Third dead whale, now at Raigad, India

Vijay Singh, TNN Apr 9, 2012

NAVI MUMBAI: A whale was washed ashore at the Diveagar coast in Raigad district, the third to be found within a week near the Mumbai coastline. Recently, two dead humpback whales were washed ashore, one on the Uran coast and another at the shoreline near Priyadarshini Park, Mumbai.

The whale at Diveagar coast, around 120 km from Alibaug in Raigad district, was spotted by locals on Wednesday. The sarpanch of Diveagar, Uday Bapat, told TOI: “A very big sea creature, which looked similar to the whales found at Uran and Mumbai, was washed ashore on our beach. We buried the carcass near the beach itself.” Bapat added that along with the whale,

11 dead turtles were also found on Diveagar beach in the last five to six days.

Marine biologists expressed concern over the number of dead whales surfacing in and around Mumbai last week. D Stalin, an environmentalist from the NGO Vanashakti, said, “It is highly unusual to find three dead whales of the same sub-species in and around the Mumbai coast. The fisheries and state forest departments must find out the cause behind these humpback whale deaths.”

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