Stranded Whale Dies

STUCK....The whale shortly after it was found stuck in shallow waters in Kuala Penyu, where rescue workers could not do much other than hoping for high tide to enable them to free it.

By : ELTON GOMES

KOTA KINABALU: A 5.8-meter long whale which was found stranded in shallow waters near shore at Kampung Setompok, Kuala Penyu yesterday, died despite efforts by various authorities to rescue it.

The whale, believed to be trapped by changing tide, was said to have died at about 8pm, some 10 hours after it was found, while rescue workers tried to move it back into the open sea.

Kuala Penyu Fisheries Department officer Julin Bagang said the whale was alive but weak when it was found due to some injuries on its body.

He said the mammal was spotted around 10am by a local fisherman who notified the Fisheries Department.

The department immediately sought help from the Fire and Rescue Department and the Wildlife Department to try to rescue the whale.

Julin said assistance was also sought from WWF Malaysia, but the main problem faced by rescue workers was logistics.

He said however that they were unable to do much to help the whale except to keep it calm and hope for high tide so that they could guide it back into the sea.

Julin also said they were unable to identify the whale’s species, but he believed it may be a sperm or blue whale (theborneopost)

Source: Sabahkini.net