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Time runs out for beached whales in Bali
Source: Agencies |
November 30, 2009, Monday
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TWO young whales are stranded on Indonesia's resort island of Bali and will die on the beach because they are too weak to survive even if returned to the water, an official said yesterday.
Attempts to rescue the beached whales, a rare occurrence on Bali, have been abandoned, said Bali's Fisheries and Marines Department officer Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa.
"They are in critical condition now," he said.
The two short-finned pilot whales, a protected species, were both extensively scratched and bruised, apparently from fishing nets at sea. Their carcasses will be buried before they decompose, Ariwangsa said.
The pair was among four whales that washed ashore on Saturday near Tanah Lot Beach, one of the most popular and picturesque tourist destinations on the island province.
Dozens of locals hauled all four of the 2.1-meter, 450-kilogram whales into shallow water. Fishing boats successfully led two back to sea, he said. But waves washed another two back to shore.
"Powerful tidal waves are believed to have separated them from their pod and left them stranded here," Ariwangsa said.
Live whales rarely become beached on Bali, although 10 dead whales, including eight short-finned pilot and two giant sperm, washed ashore in February in stormy weather this year.
Attempts to rescue the beached whales, a rare occurrence on Bali, have been abandoned, said Bali's Fisheries and Marines Department officer Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa.
"They are in critical condition now," he said.
The two short-finned pilot whales, a protected species, were both extensively scratched and bruised, apparently from fishing nets at sea. Their carcasses will be buried before they decompose, Ariwangsa said.
The pair was among four whales that washed ashore on Saturday near Tanah Lot Beach, one of the most popular and picturesque tourist destinations on the island province.
Dozens of locals hauled all four of the 2.1-meter, 450-kilogram whales into shallow water. Fishing boats successfully led two back to sea, he said. But waves washed another two back to shore.
"Powerful tidal waves are believed to have separated them from their pod and left them stranded here," Ariwangsa said.
Live whales rarely become beached on Bali, although 10 dead whales, including eight short-finned pilot and two giant sperm, washed ashore in February in stormy weather this year.
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