Ganjam: The carcass of a 30-foot-long whale was found beached at Rushikulya estuary near Gangadevi shrine of Purunabandh village in Ganjam district Friday.
The carcass was discovered by Purunabandh villagers who were out on a morning walk this morning. They informed the forest department following which officials reached the spot and launched an operation to pull the carcass onto the shore.
“The body of the whale is partly in water which affects the operation,” informed local ranger Somnath Mallick.
According to Mallick, after pulling it onto the shore, the carcass would be buried according to the standard operating procedure.
While some of the locals believe the mammal died after being hit by a vessel, many others suggested that dead whales being beached is nothing new though rare. The whale could very well have died a natural death, they argued.
PNN