Dead Humpback whale washes ashore Malabar Hill, India

Sunday, April 01, 2012

The civic body spent around 3 hours trying to clear the humpback’s carcass

Harjeevan Rathore pulled off the white handkerchief masked to his face and fastened it tighter. Waving his hand, the municipal employee tried to dispel the stench left behind by a dead whale washed ashore.

“It’s huge, very heavy,” said Rathore an employee of the municipal corporation’s solid waste management department, as crane rolled on noisily, getting ready to tug the carcass away. “It will be disposed at Deonar dumping ground.”

The stench of the rotting carcass hung loosely over the beach, where the 35-foot-long humpback was spotted floating last afternoon, with gashes on its body.

As word spread, the area near Priyadarshini Park in Malabar Hill was instantaneously converted into a tourist spot, as it were – little kids who seemed a bit scared and more curious. “Bahut bada machchi dekha,” prattled a tiny tot, as the policemen present there tried to keep the crowds away.

Civic officials spent at least three hours trying to move the carcass, finally hacking it to pices.

Up in the sky, kites and other scavenger birds were circling around, sometimes swooping down to peck at the carcass.

“We got a call from the municipality that a whale was washed ashore,” said a senior official from the fire department. “Initially, we thought we would lift it using a rope, but it’s far too heavy,” he said.

A 20-something Malabar Hill resident, Kavish Batra, said that the manner in which the civic employees handled the carcass didn’t seem right. “Why not preserve the carcass for research?” he asked. “I tried calling up some animal rights groups but no one was willing to come.”

An ambulance from the Bombay Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) did drive to the spot, but left as the whale was dead and nothing could be done.

This is the second such instance of a whale being washed ashore in as many days. On Friday, another humpback whale washed onto the Uran beach with gashes on its body. This has left marine biologists wondering whether some whales have been injured while migrating through Mumbai waters.

Head of Bombay Natural History Society’s maritime conservation programme, Deepak Apte, said that since the whale was dead and its carcass decaying, it had to be removed immediately and disposed of. “It’s possible that the whale had a natural death, but there is also a good chance that it was hit by propellers of a ship while it was probably migrating.”

Director of Wildlife Conservation Trust, Dr Anish Andheria, said that the authorities lacked the amenities to carry the carcass of an adult whale to the dumping site.

“There is no choice but to cut it up,” said Dr Andheria. “Ideally, a tissue sample should be collected from the animal’s carcass so that we can understand what caused its death, even if it’s natural. This research helps us study the environment and understand the threats these marine animals face.”

mumbaimirror.com

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