Chennai:
A second whale was washed ashore
between Nainar Kuppam and Pannayur beach near East Coast Road sparking concern
among environmentalists.
TREE Foundation chairperson Supraja
Dharini told Express that the 6.69 feet whale identified as Dwarf Sperm Whale which weighs around
300 kg is the 2nd whale out of the 10
marine mammals recorded along the coast in the last 70 days.
The animal may have stranded late in the evening, she said. This mammal
is one of the smallest marine mammals to be called a Whale. Dr P Dhandapani, former Chief of Marine Biological Station,Zoological
Survey of India and TREE Foundation’s
advisor for Marine Mammals verified it as Dwarf Sperm Whale.
“They have a small but extremely robust body that tapers rapidly
from the dorsal fin to the flukes. The head appears conical when seen from
above or below. Also, the Dwarf Sperm Whale has several short skin folds,
resembling grooves on the throat and this was also clearly visible,” his
observations stated.
Supraja said that
this whale had an injury over its head near the blow hole region and this could
have also been one of the causes for death. A Dwarf Sperm Whale was earlier
recorded by the TREE Foundation in 2009 near Devaneri in a partially decomposed
state.
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