Police are currently following leads in tracking down those suspected of having poached the jaw and teeth from a beached sperm whale.
As reported, a sperm whale beached itself at Snæfellsnes over the weekend. The whale is an adult measuring some 12 to 15 metres long.
On Tuesday morning, it was discovered that someone had sawed half of the whale’s jaw off, presumably for the teeth. Sperm whale teeth are very valuable, but buying or selling them is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
RÚV now reports that police in Stykkishólmur have been gathering leads in the case, although no arrests have yet been made. However, they do believe that more than one person was at work in the operation.
Volcanologist Haraldur Sigurðsson, who was one of the first to witness the mutilated animal, told reporters that while Icelanders are shocked to learn that hands are sawed from gorillas to make them into ashtrays, they prove themselves no better when it comes to our own endangered species.
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