Indonesia: Sperm whale stranded at Bungkulan Beach

Antara 20 Mar 18;

Illustration. A long whale measuring about 25 meters that once stranded in the coastal waters of Jangkar Village, Situbondo, East Java, beginning of March 2018. (ANTARA/Seno)

Singaraja, Bali (ANTARA News) - A sperm whale carcass, with a length of about 15 meters and a weight of 10 tons, was stranded at the Bungkulan Village Beach, Sawan Sub-District, Buleleng District, Bali.

"Hundreds of local people came to see the carcass of the female sperm whale stranded on the coast of Bungkulan Village Beach, Sawan Sub-district, Buleleng District, at around 09.30 a.m. local time," Resort Police of Buleleng AKP I Putu Aryana said here on Monday.

He stated that the giant sperm whale was a spectacular sight for the people, because they had not succeeded in rescuing or evacuating the large mammals.

The police and the local district government responded quickly on the news of the dead sperm whale being stranded on the beach with its skin peeled off and entrails scattered out.

Based on the results of the external examination conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Buleleng District, with Iwan Setia Budi as a lecturer of Undiksha Singaraja, it was estimated that the sperm whale had died a week ago.

"This sperm whale died last week, which was evident from the opened abdomen of the whale, which was crumbled apart. The belly of the whale might have been eaten by sharks," he noted.

Responding to the anxiety of the local people, the officials will soon discard the carcass of the sperm whale in the middle of the sea to be drowned, due to the stinging odor emanating from the carcass.

AKP I Putu Aryana has confirmed the plan, in which the sperm whale will be drowned into the sea using fishing boats. *** 1 ***

Reported by Krishna Arisudana and IMB Andi Purnomo
(T.KR-TQA/INE)
(T.SYS/B/KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Heru Purwanto