66-foot dead whale washes ashore in Orissa

A 66-foot dead whale was on Saturday found washed ashore near the Chinchiri river mouth under Rajnagar block in Orissa’s Kendrapada district, around 120 km from here.

The whale was spotted along the beach about one kilometre from the Chinchiri river mouth.

After getting information from the local people, Rajnagar forest ranger Harekrushna Mallick, forester Kapilendra Pradhan and Ranjit Rout have reached the spot to investigate into the matter.

Though the reason of death of the giant whale was yet to be ascertained, the mammal is suspected to have died in the deep waters of Bay of Bengal after being hit by a ship after which it has washed ashore, officials said.

The whale bore injury marks on its tail and abdominal wall, preliminary examination revealed. The officials have seized the carcass and sent it for a post-mortem to be conducted on Saturday with the help of Rajnagar veterinary officials to ascertain the cause of death.

This is the first incident in the district where a whale has washed ashore.