TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Island focus: Four of 10 beached whales die
Four out of 10 sperm whales that were beached at Ujong Kareung Beach in Aceh Besar regency in Aceh died in the early morning on Tuesday while the rest have been helped back to open waters
Change Size
F
our out of 10 sperm whales that were beached at Ujong Kareung Beach in Aceh Besar regency in Aceh died in the early morning on Tuesday while the rest have been helped back to open waters.
Around 50 rescuers from various agencies had been deployed since Monday to release the whales, with support from local people acting as volunteers. “They were stranded in shallow waters, only 2 meters deep. So it was hard for us to release them,” head of Lampulo Maritime and Fisheries Monitoring Task Force Basri told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He explained that the first three whales had died before being helped back into the sea.
“We released seven of them to the sea this morning, but one of them returned to the beach again, dead. We are still monitoring the other six, making sure they will not strand themselves again,” Basri said.
Along with three ships from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, local fishermen lent their boats to help with the release and monitoring of the whales, some of whom suffered injuries after hitting rocks on the beach.
