Indonesia: Another Whale Found Dead on West Java Beach

Jakarta Globe 6 Sep 12;

Cianjur, West Java. Another whale was found dead on a West Java beach on Thursday, making it the fourth whale or big fish found since July.

The black whale found on Sinar Laut beach in the southern coast of Cianjur district weighed six tons and measured 10 meters in length. The carcass was found dead in shallow water some 100 meters from the beach on Thursday morning when local residents found it as they were about to go fishing — they reportedly then pulled the carcass to the beach.

“The whale is predicted to have died one or two hours before the residents found it — it was still fresh, wasn’t rotten yet,” an Indonesian Military (TNI) officer stationed in the area, Second Lt. Assistant Muzakir, said on Thursday. He said local officials were still investigating the cause of the death.

Rahmat, 45, said the weather and seas off Cianjur had been “unfriendly” over the past few weeks, citing four meter-high waves common this time of year that often discourage local fishermen from going to sea.

Rahmat added that this was not the first time people in Cianjur have found a dead whale stranded on its beaches, saying they find one nearly every year.

But the whale found on Thursday is the second one found dead in West Java over the past couple of months, after residents found a live sperm whale stranded on a northern beach in the district of Karawang on July 28, which died shortly after it was returned to sea.

In early August, two whale sharks were stranded and died on Yogyakarta beaches in the southern coast of Java.

Antara/JG

6-tonne whale washes up on Cianjur beach
Antara 6 Sep 12;

Cianjur (ANTARA News) - A dead whale weighing about 6 tonnes washed ashore in the southern coast of Cianjur district, West Java province on Thursday.

"A lot of people arrived to see the whale and later started cutting its meat for consumption. Within a few minutes, there was no meat left on the whale`s body," said Muzakir, a local rural official.

Local security guards could not stop the large number of people from cutting the whale into pieces.

"There were not only local villagers but also inhabitants from neighbouring villages who had come on cars and motorbikes," Muzakir noted.

Jamal, a 32-year-old village man from Sindangbarang, which is situated about 50 kilometres from the beach where the whale was stranded, said he had come to get a piece of whale meat.

"Apart from my curiosity, I came here hoping to get a piece of the whale`s meat. Last year, I had done the same thing and I found that whale meat was good for my stamina," he explained.

Meanwhile, Rahmat, a 45-year-old fisherman from the same village, said the 10-metre-long whale was most likely killed after being shot by a poacher.

He stated that there were four bullet holes in the whale`s body.

"The whale is considered to be a blessing. Local people believe that whale`s meat can cure various diseases," Rahmat added.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)

Editor: Priyambodo RH