Third Massive Whale in a Month Beaches Itself, Dies in Bali

DENPASAR, KOMPAS.com - A 17-meter-long sperm whale died after washing up on a beach in Bali, a conservation official said Sunday, April 9, making it the third whale that beached itself on the Indonesian island in just a little over a week.

The male sperm whale was found stranded on Yeh Leh beach in west Bali's Jembrana district on Saturday afternoon.

"We are currently trying to pull the carcass to the shore to make it easier for the necropsy test and we will bury it after the test is concluded," Permana Yudiarso, a local marine and fisheries official, told AFP Sunday.

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This is the third whale that has beached itself in Bali, a popular destination for holidaymakers, in April alone.

On Wednesday, an 18-meter-long male sperm whale was stranded in the Klungkung district, on Bali's eastern coast.

Before that, a Bryde's whale weighing more than two tones and at least 11 meters long was found stranded on a beach in Tabanan on April 1 -- its carcass already rotted when discovered by locals.

Yudiarso told AFP that their initial suspicion is that the sperm whale found Saturday also died of sickness, "just like the whale found stranded a few days ago".

"The body looked skinny and sickly," he said.

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