BHUBANESHWAR, Apr 10 : A giant-sized 32-feet-long critically endangered Bryde whale was washed ashore in idyllic Madali beach coming under Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary of Odisha’s Kendrapara district, said a forest official today.
The gargantuan mammal weighed around 10 ton. It was quite an uphill task for the forest personnel to extricate the mammal’s body from the beach.
The forest department is planning to preserve the skeletal remains of the mammal for posterity, said an official.
The mammal bore injury marks. The species figures in the IUCN Red list of threatened marine species.
“The mammal is a schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. We are still undecided whether to bury or not the carcass after its post mortem,” said forest officials.
As there are injury marks, the mammals might have perished after being hit by either ship or trawl propellers.
“After necessary legal formalities like post mortem work is over, we would seek suggestions from department high-ups regarding preservation of the skeletal remains of the whale,” the official said.
Many curious villagers, including fishermen, thronged the beach to witness the giant whale.
The whale was highly decomposed and had scars and evidence of previous entanglements. Entanglements are common with this particular type of species because of their feeding habits. The forest officials will take samples from the animal in order to determine the cause of death, added the forest officer.
(UNI)
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