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Massive sperm whale beaches itself, dies in Bali
The sperm whale, believed to weigh many tonnes, beached itself in the east of Bali on Wednesday before locals and officials pushed it back out to sea.
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Villagers look at a dead sperm whale (Physeter Macrocephalus) that was stranded at Yeh Malet beach, in Klungkung, on April 5, 2023.
(AFP/Dicky Bisinglasi)
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nimal experts were preparing Thursday to conduct an autopsy on an 18-metre (59-foot) whale that died after washing up on a beach in Bali, conservation officials said.
The sperm whale, believed to weigh many tonnes, beached itself in the east of Bali on Wednesday before locals and officials pushed it back out to sea.
But after swimming away it became stranded again just hours later on a different beach and died on the shore with no visible wounds, local marine and fisheries official Permana Yudiarso told AFP.
"We are still investigating the cause of death. We want to get a scientific explanation of whether it was because of pollution or plastic," he said.
Sperm whales, the world's largest predators, are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being "vulnerable" to extinction.
Vets and forensic experts have arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the whale's death, and its carcass will be buried in the coming days.
"Today we will conduct a necropsy test, and after that we will get an excavator to try to bury the carcass nearby," Permana said.
