Mangaluru, Jul 24: A huge dead blue whale was spotted on Mogaveerapatna beach near Ullal on the outskirts of the city after it had washed ashore in the early hours of Friday.
To the surprise of the local residents, the dead marine mammal which was at least 15 feet long, had been washed ashore following high tide early on Thursday morning.
The dead whale was in a state of partial decomposition and generated curious onlookers. After a stray dog began barking loudly near the sea shore, the blue whale was spotted first by a member of the lifeguard association Praveen Kotian, who is a local resident.
Following the rare discovery, the locals who spotted the whale informed the local police and the town municipality officials. Ullal police officials, Ullal municipality president and few members visited the spot where the whale was found on the beach.
Since these marine mammals grow up to giant sizes, the whale washed ashore was likely to be a young one.
The town municipality officials informed that a JCB machine would be deployed to dig the ground on the beach where the carcass of the whale could be buried.
The lifeguard association president said that a bigger whale had been washed ashore in a similar fashion few years ago on Someshwara beach. Later, the carcass was dragged with ropes till Ullal beach and buried there. Although there is a large demand for the head of a whale for medicinal use, the head of the whale found on Thursday was decomposed and could not be salvaged, he said.
There are around 20 types of whales on an average found in the Arabian Sea.
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