Malaysia: Clueless over dead whale

Fisheries Dept officials in a dilemma over carcass, may decide to bury it on island
Kristy Inus New Straits Times 13 Feb 12;

THE state Fisheries Department has not decided on what to do with the 13m baleen whale that was found dead at Pulau Mengalum, about 56km northwest here.

A local daily reported that nine officers had been sent to inspect the carcass on Friday morning following a tip-off the day before.

Team leader Irman Isnain said they had not been able to identify which of the 12 baleen species the whale belonged to because of the advanced stage of decomposition.

The reason as to why the mammal -- as long as a badminton court -- beached itself on the island also remained a mystery.

"We have no idea what caused it to beach itself. The department also could not pinpoint the actual time of the whale's death, but judging from the information given by the staff of a nearby resort, it is definitely more than a week."

Irman said the tip-off on the dead whale came from visitors to the island, but the resort staff had spotted it early this month.

"When they saw it on the beach, it was already dead."

The department's assistant director, Rooney Biusing, said no decision had been made on disposing the carcass.

"Due to logistics problems, if there is no choice, we may have to bury the carcass on the island."

A local resort operator had said that this was the second time a whale had washed ashore and died on Pulau Mengalum.

The first was in January 2010.