MARANG – An adult female whale estimated to weigh 400kg with minor injuries to the body, was found stranded in front of a resort on Pantai Merchang near Gong Balai, here yesterday.
Head of the Marine Mammals Branch, research officer of the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) Rantau Abang, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd Rashid said the three-metre pygmy sperm whale was found at 9am by members of the public.
“The Rantau Abang FRI team received a call at noon and rushed to the location. We conducted a rescue process according to standard operating procedures set by the Fisheries Department Malaysia.
“However, the rescue effort was not successful because the whale was too weak and was halted after it was found the animal had died. The carcass has been brought back to FRI Rantau Abang and a post-mortem to find the cause of death will be done tomorrow,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
Amirul added that the pygmy sperm whale is one of the smallest whales in the world with adult whales of its species measuring a maximum of 3.5m. – Bernama, December 23, 2021
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