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Teeth theft from endangered orca carcass being investigated

Teeth theft from endangered orca carcass being investigated

A bizarre, macabre theft is being investigated in British Columbia this week, after someone stole the teeth from a dead orca.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is investigating the theft, and while officials couldn’t say why someone would want the teeth, whale ivory can be a hot commodity on the black market.

One thing is clear, however: It is very illegal to steal those teeth.

The Canadian Press reports that the body of a deceased orca was lying near a boat launch on Vancouver Island waiting to be examined by biologists.

The endangered whale had been found floating offshore late last week and was moved to shore for a post-mortem investigation.

It is still not clear what killed the whale, though it has been confirmed it was pregnant with a full-term calf at the time of her death.

Overnight, however, someone removed several teeth and damaged several others.

Her jaw and teeth were in great shape and solid,” DFO co-ordinator Paul Cottrell told the news agency.

"It looks like they broke off a couple, and there were a number that were sawed off, and those were cut off right to the gum."

Under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, taking teeth from an orca carcass is illegal.

Section 32.2 notes:

No person shall possess, collect, buy, sell or trade an individual of a wildlife species that is listed as an extirpated species, an endangered species or a threatened species, or any part or derivative of such an individual.

If a person is found guilty, they could be fined as much as $250,000 and receive up to five years in prison.

While it seems bizarre that someone would desecrate the body of a whale for a couple of teeth, it is not rare. There is frequently a rush, of sorts, to procure souvenirs when whales wash ashore.

Whale bones and teeth are often used in scrimshaw art, a perfectly legal venture except when done on ivory taken from endangered animals.

In 2010, a U.S. scrimshaw artist was convicted of smuggling endangered whale teeth to use in his art. He obtained the whale ivory through a European smuggling network.

In 2011, another American man was convicted of buying and selling sperm whale teeth. He reportedly sold three teeth for between $70,000 and $120,000.

In the recent British Columbia theft, it is not clear whether the incident was tied to the black market, or simple vandalism. But it has upset a lot of people.

The whale carcass will be donated to the Royal B.C. Museum… albeit a few teeth short.