10 whales beached on Bali island
February 16th, 2009
BALI, Indonesia: Ten dead whales have washed ashore on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in recent weeks.
Conservationists said Wednesday stormy weather and strong currents were probably to blame.
Budi Adnyana from Bali’s Conservation and Natural Resources Agency says two of the animals were giant sperm whales — a protected species. They measured 40 feet (12 meters) in length and 8 feet (2.5 meters) around.
Villagers butchered their carcasses to collect oil, which is used for traditional medicine.
Adnyana said the other eight whales were short-finned pilots, about a quarter the size of the larger mammals.
Rescuers were still trying to untangle those carcasses from the roots of trees in a mangrove on the islands’ southern tip on Wednesday.
Source: www.iht.com
Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News
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