Residents take whale meat home

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Using axes, knives and all means available, local residents chopped up on Monday the meat of a stranded whale in Purirano beach, some 12 kilometers west of Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.

Dobing, a Purirano subdistrict official, said the residents had begun to take away the meat since Saturday for their own consumption or commercial purposes, only few hours after the whale was declared dead by local officials.

The giant whale -- 15 meters long and 1.7 meters tall -- ran aground on Saturday. Local officials attempted to save the whale by dousing it with water before pushing it out to sea. However, the whale died before they were able to move it because of serious back injuries likely inflicted by coral. -- JP