On Saturday, Two dead whales washed up on the same coast of Bangladesh. Officials suggest that this could be due to water pollution.
Details of the Dead Whales:
The second, slightly larger whale washed up on Himchhari Beach, just outside the tourist city of Cox\’s Bazar, at about 8:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) Saturday. Interestingly, around two kilometres away another Bryde\’s whale washed up on the shore. This happened only a two days after.
\”The carcass of the whale found today is at least 50 feet (16 metres) long and 10 feet wide. It weighs three-four tonnes,\” Jahirul Islam, executive director of the Cox\’s Bazar-based Marine Life Alliance
Reasons for the Death of Whales:
According to early news, the whales may have died at sea a few days earlier and then drifted to shore. Thanks to a continuing COVID-19 lockdown, there were no fishing boats at sea for days. Whales may have died as a result of a collision with a ship plying the Bay of Bengal, or as a result of consuming plastics that clutter the water, according to officials.
Although, the majority consensus still believes the two whales died as a result of ingesting plastic and contaminated items. However, on the back of the second whale was a wound. Officials believe it was struck by a fast-moving submarine. Professor Mohammad Shahidul Alam of the Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries believes that areas of the Bay of Bengal are severely polluted, which may have contributed to the animals\’ deaths.
According to a spokesperson for Bangladesh\’s environment and forestry agency, researchers took samples from the carcasses for post-mortem exams. According to local papers, local authorities said they would look into the whale\’s death.
“We have called for assistance from all the concerned authorities, including a veterinary surgeon from the wildlife and nature conservation division to determine the cause of death\”, said Makhan Chandra Sutra Dhar, executive magistrate of Cox\’s Bazar district
Fire and Civil Defence Units will Assist in Removing the Dead Whales:
Lastly, it was reported that officials are planning of removing the bodies of the dead whales from the beach with the assistance of fire and civil defence units. This isn’t the first time that whales have washed up to Bangladesh’s shores. In 1996 and 2006, two similar whales washed up on the shores of Cox\’s Bazar.
