JP/5/PAUS

JP/5/PAUS

Fifty whales stranded in Banyuwangi

ID Nugroho
Surabaya

Fifty whales, which were stranded on Ancol beach, Banyuwangi,
East Java, on Saturday, were successfully returned to the sea at
high tide on Sunday night, but one died of heat exposure.

The whales were first spotted by local residents on the beach,
some 1.5 kilometers east of Ketapang port, Banyuwangi, in the
early hours of Saturday when local fishermen were stunned by
unfamiliar, black mounds on the beach where they usually land
their catch.

"As they approached the mounds, they were startled when they
realized they were beached whales," said Udin, a local resident.

Ancol beach is some five hours land journey east of Surabaya,
the capital of East Java province.

The rare occurrence was immediately reported to the water
police unit, whose its station is not far from the location.

The water police then directly reported the incident to
Baluran Police and the Jember Natural Resources Conservation
Agency (BKSDA). "BKSDA officials went quickly to the area to save
the whales," BKSDA member Darminto told The Jakarta Post.

He recalled that dealing with dozens of whales was not an easy
task. Moreover, the whales weighed an average of three tons each,
with a length of 3.5 meters and girth of 2.5 meters.

"Rescuers and local residents painstakingly tried to drag the
whales back to sea but it was in vain," he said. They decided to
wait for high tide so the whales could swim back to sea.

The long-awaited high tide finally came on Sunday night, and
the residents, with much effort, rolled the whales toward a more
steeply sloping part of the beach.

"They were very heavy. As we couldn't carry them, we
eventually rolled them over to the sea," said Darminto. Their
efforts were not fruitless as 49 of them were saved, while one
died of the heat.

"From its teeth, we estimated that it was two to three years
old. It might have died from the struggle and the heat," he said.

He said that similar incidents had twice occurred there,
including in June last year. "At that time a beached whale also
died," he said, without elaborating on how many whales had been
cast ashore.