Thousands flock to see a 29m-long blue whale body found in Kupang Bay, Indonesia – Mother.SG

Published 1 year ago on July 23, 2020 By NewsDesk.

A 29-meter-tall blue whale corpse was found trapped in Kupang Bay, Indonesia on Tuesday (July 21st).

The dead whale, which weighs about 100 tonnes, was found by fisherman on Na Batu Kepala beach in the Nunhila subdivision, reported Jakarta Post.

Thousands gather on the beach to watch the whale:
Considered the largest animal on Earth, the carcasses of blue whales became a spectacular sight for residents of Kupang City, with thousands of residents visiting the whale.

According to this tweet from Twitter user @majjeee_, crowds are seen entering the site to capture a view of whale carcasses.

Here is a translation of the tweet:

Yesterday at Nunhila-Kupang beach, there was a 29 meter long whale.

It was the conversation of the whole city.

This was the conversation between my friend and me:

Me: The beached whale is a right?

He: Yes, like the one I saw in Gorontalo is a whale fish.

Whale sharks.

Me: So is it a whale or a shark?

So on Nunhila-Kupang beach there is a 29 meter long whale.

Scott was in a rage.

Then they came to me, as I like:

A blue whale, bluewhale or not? Yes, the one I saw was in Gorontalo, eh this is a whaleshark! Whale sharks so is he the shark or the whale? jayus nyet pic.twitter.com/Y3KsBmqgZg dokter janet (@majjeee_) July 22, 2020.

Several images of the blue whale appeared on Twitter, such as these from Beta Abdullah |:

Corpses will be studied to understand the species:
Told the head of the Kupang Water Protection Zone Agency (BKKPN), Ikram Sangadji Jakarta Post that the agency “responded quickly to reports from residents about marine mammals trapped on the beach.”

The fisherman first noticed the dead whale around 10 a.m. in Kupang, and the lifeless body was later moved from the wave to the beach at 3 p.m.

To preserve the skeleton of the blue whale, the dead whale will be buried on the sandy beach and the bones will be excavated at a later date.

Ikram said Jakarta Post which species are protected:

Whale conservation will also serve as a tool for education and allows research into the behavior, habitat and anatomy of animals.

The waters around Kupang are under the Sawu Sea Marine National Park and are used as a crossroads for cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales, reported Jakarta Post.

Earlier this year, a dead sperm whale was found trapped among mangrove trees on Tasilo beach.

According to Ikram from BKKPN, the marine park has seen eight species of dolphins and eight species of whales in their waters.

Threats to whales and other marine animals
There are many threats to whales and marine animals that bathe on shores across the globe, from plastic to shipwrecks.

In 2018, a sperm whale bathing on the island of Kapota in Indonesia had six kilograms of plastic in its stomach, reported BBC.

Some of the plastic items found included flippers and plastic bags.

In 2015, another sperm whale body was found sailing on Jurong Island and it was discovered that there were plastic cups in the whale`s stomach.

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, other threats to blue whales face blows from boats, such as boats, and interfere with fishing equipment, such as nets.

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