The decaying carcass of the 9.2-meter whale was first discovered in the coastal area of Tasilo village by local fishermen, it appeared to have extensive injuries.

"We have deployed a team to the location to retrieve and bury the sperm whale carcass," Kupang Water Conservation Area Agency (BKKPN) head Ikram Sangadji said on Sunday.

Ikram said the team had conducted an investigation in the field, but they could not yet draw any conclusions as to what caused the whale’s death.

Kupang BKKPN team in cooperation with Rote Ndao and Kupang Disaster Mitigation Agency, as well as locals from Tasilo village, dug a giant pit on the shore using excavators to bury the whale on Sunday. People living in the area had been banned from taking or consuming the whale meat.

According to information provided by local residents, Ikram said the huge mammal was first found dead on Jan. 22 at around 1 p.m. local time. The sperm whale was stranded around 500 meters from the shoreline and got stuck in the mangrove forests.

After local authorities deployed a team to the field on Sunday, they removed the carcass from the mangrove forest for burial.

Tasilo village head Maria Foes said she had contacted authorities on Friday after receiving the report about the death of the protected animal.

“We suspect that the sperm whale had been stranded and died a few days [before it was found],” Maria said. (gis)

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