Terrified giant whale carcass washed ashore
In just over a week, the carcasses of three whales have been found dead on beaches in Bali, authorities said on April 9.
The first creature, a Bryde whale, weighing more than two tons and at least 11 meters long, washed up on Tabanan beach in the southern Indonesian island of Bali on April 1. It was partially rotting when discovered by locals.
The other two carcasses, both male sperm whales, 18 and 17 meters long, respectively, were found on the coast of Klungkung in eastern Bali on April 5 and Yeh Leh in western Bali on April 8.
Permana Yudiarso, a local marine and fisheries official, suspects the sperm whale in Yeh Leh also died of the same illness as previous whales.
“Its body looks thin and sick,” Yudiarso told AFP. “We are trying to pull the body ashore to make it easier to examine and will bury it after the examination is over.”
Police cordoned off Yeh Leh beach to prevent people from taking the sperm whale meat or other body parts. In addition, the whale carcass is also easy to explode, potentially dangerous for those who get close.
Forensic experts say it will take at least three weeks for an autopsy, but they have found some bleeding in the whale’s lungs and fluid-filled intestines.
In 2018, an autopsy of a dead sperm whale in Indonesia discovered more than 100 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach, raising concerns about the problem of marine litter in Indonesia. This Southeast Asian country is the second largest contributor of marine litter in the world, after China.
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