Science geeks have mourned the extinction of the saber-tooth tiger for centuries. Maybe they'll find consolation in the saber-toothed whale.
The ultra rare sea creature washed up Tuesday on Venice Beach, according to The LA Times
"We were very lucky," said Nick Fash, who works for Heal The Bay and the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. "These whales are incredibly rare and almost never seen in the wild."
To add a few more degrees of rarity, the whale was discovered way further south than typical migration patterns and it was most likely alive when it hit Venice sand - a marvel given the extreme distance it must have traveled.
The humbly proportioned whales (this one was 15 feet) live in the arctic, but sometimes migrate south to Northern California, the Times reported. Fash doesn't know how this one came to Venice and said that mystery may never be solved.
According to the Encyclopedia of Earth, Stejneger's beaked whales, as they are also called, don't actually have large fangs that protrude from their mouths, but they do have a set of saw-like teeth, more pronounced in males (the one in Venice was a female). The species also possesses a long break, which emphasize the teeth and make this whale for the briefest of moments resemble a saber tooth tiger.
According to the Times,The Venice Saber was shredded with bite marks by "cookie-cutter sharks", but given the circumstances, it arrived incredibly intact. Its remains will undergo a necropsy, or autopsy, by the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, providing "scientists a rare glimpse into the lives of the elusive mammals."
As of 2011, only 48 saber-tooth whales have ever been spotted, according to the Encylcopedia of Earth. Thirty one of those occurred in Alaskan waters. None, of course, in Venice Beach. It's no surprise, then, that once Fash heard the news he hopped on his bike and pedaled, "as fast as I could."
"This is the best," Fash said. "[Previous finds] aren't anything like this. This is a treat."
