KENDRAPARA: The carcass of a rare Bryde’s whale washed ashore at the beach near Devi river mouth under the Kujang forest range within Bhitarkanika National Park on Saturday.
A group of marine fishermen first spotted the female marine mammal, measuring about 25 foot in length. Soon after, locals gathered at the site, taking selfies and videos of the Bryde’s whale and uploading them on social media platforms.
Villagers informed local forest officials about the dead whale, following which forest guards and officials rushed to the spot to inspect the carcass. Preliminary observations suggest that the marine mammal may have been hit by a ship or fishing vessel in the deep sea, after which the body was washed ashore.
The animal bore scars and evidence of previous entanglements.
“A team of veterinary doctors conducted postmortem of the carcass. The exact cause of death will be known after we receive the postmortem report,” said Kujang forest range officer Sanjay Kumar Pradhan.