Batu Belig beach in Kuta, Bali was stunned by the appearance of a rotting carcass of a 13.8 metre-long and 4 metre-diameter whale on Thursday 21st January.
Head of the Denpasar Coastal and Marine Resources Management Agency (BPSPL) Permana Yudiarso said that initially the whale carcass was reported to have been floating in the waters of Batu Belig at around 7am local time. At around 10am, the carcass was washed ashore.
Beach goers curiously surrounded the scene despite the rotting stench. Fishermen and local residents then reported it to BPSPL Denpasar.
Yudi suspected that the whale had been dead for about two weeks. This can be seen from the condition of the rotten carcass and its bulging physique. He said he suspects that the whale died naturally in the middle of the sea and was floating.
“There are no injuries that we can identify because the body has been crushed. However, his stomach is intact, probably no injuries,” said Yudi.
Bali Conversation Official Prawono Meruanto said this creature could be a Bryde’s whale, and that its carcass was later buried at the beach using an excavator.
Meanwhile, ten smaller whales were previously found on a beach in East Nusa Tenggara in July 2020. Locals luckily helped one of the whales back into the water.
Photo credits Phys.org
Don’t dig too deep if you are planning on building sand castles on Batu Belig beach. pic.twitter.com/YyY3RHzXzh
— Bali_chris (@Bali_chris) January 23, 2021