Dead sperm whale, spinner dolphin found off Negros Oriental
The remains of a sperm whale and a spinner dolphin were sighted off the coast of Dauin town in Negros Oriental province Wednesday morning.
Fishermen and Bantay Dagat teams towed the decomposing remains of the sperm whale (Physeter Macrocephalus), state-run Philippines News Agency reported.
Dr. Alessandro Ponzo of the Large Marine Vertebrae (LAMAVE) Project confirmed the mammal was a sperm whale, the largest toothed whale of the sub-order Odonteceti.
“It is easy to recognize because of only one blow hole on the left side of the head,” said Dr. Ponzo, who with Jean Utzurrum and the marine laboratory are scheduled to do a necropsy of the marine mammal.
Arlene Corsame, Dauin's municipal agriculture officer, was quoted in the report as saying local officials were informed of the sighting at around 7 a.m.
They then sought help from the Silliman University Marine Laboratory in Dumaguete City. police and representatives from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources went to the area as well.
Roland Tuble, president of the Masaplod Norte Fishermen’s Association (MANFA) and a Bantay Dagat member, said they initially thought the sighting at 5 a.m. was that of a human body wrapped in fabric.
The carcass reportedly weighed about 2,000 kilos, and attracted the attention of local officials, fishermen and residents.
In the afternoon, Dauin Mayor Neil Credo ordered the carcass transferred to another part of the beach where it can be chopped into pieces and buried at the local cemetery, so it would not contaminate the local water.
Ponzo and marine biologist Jean Utzurrum of Silliman University marine laboratory took measurements and samples of the sperm whale for research.
Decomposition
Ponzo said the sperm whale found off Dauin could have been dead for days or up to a week, based on its state of decomposition.
He also cited an initial assessment showing some bones in the head were broken.
But he said it is possible this was trauma caused by being hit by a ship. He noted there was increased traffic in the Bohol Sea and Tañon Strait.
“We will have to wait for one year after we collect the bones” for research and information on its death, he said.
The PNA report said the marine biologists also had difficulty determining if the dead sperm whale was male or female.
Ponzo said the head alone measured four to five meters, adding the sperm whale could measure between 12 to 15 meters.
Spinner dolphin
Meanwhile, a spinner dolphin was found floating off Masaplod Norte in Dauin around 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Initial findings showed the dolphin was a male. It was brought to the Silliman University marine laboratory for examination. — VC, GMA News