A 37-feet-long Bryde's whale washed ashore on Mumbai's Juhu beach at midnight on Thursday. A group of joggers reported spotting the carcass on the beach at night, and officials, along with hoards of curious spectators gathered there on Friday morning. Personnel from the Mangrove Cell and the city's municipal corporation are helping clear the body, The Hindu reported.
Makrand Ghodke, an official at the Maharashtra Forest Department, told AFP, "There is no sign of any wounds. We think it died three or four days back and we will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death." N Vasudevan, the Chief Conservator of Forests, Mangrove Cell, said, "The body has not completely degenerated, but it has become bloated."
There will be some difficulty in handling the carcass though, because local officials said they have not yet found a place to bury it and are not equipped to deal with the massive animal. Moreover, there is a danger that the whale could explode because of all the gas that is being produced by the decomposing organs.
The Bryde's whale is a complex of sub-species that is found in both temperate and tropical waters. At least six of them have been spotted along Mumbai's coast over the last few years. In June last year, a 42-feet-long blue whale washed ashore near Maharashtra's Alibaug. Around 100 small whales, identified as short-finned pilot whales, were found washed ashore in Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, earlier this month.
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