Made Arya Kencana

Balinese children attempt to rescue one of two beached whales, a rare occurrence on Tabanan beach in Bali. (AP Photo)

Two Whales Likely to Die in Bali as Rescue Fails

Denpasar. Two of four protected short-finned pilot whales that beached themselves on a beach near Bali’s famed Tanah Lot temple on Saturday have been given little hope of survival.

Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa, district chief for the fisheries and maritime affairs office in Tabanan, said two of the four whales were too weak to be pushed back to sea because of wounds, probably sustained from fishing nets, covering their bodies.

“They only have a little hope of survival let alone to go back to the sea,” he said on Sunday. “But we will still do our best to save them.”

Four of the whales, a protected species, were found by local fishermen on Saturday morning at Nyanyi Beach in Tabanan district. The mammals had stranded themselves at roughly 300-meter intervals along the shore. The whales were on average about two meters long and weighed up to half a ton each.

Two of the whales, however, were dragged back into the sea by local residents, fishermen and a rescue team (Balawista) from the fisheries and maritime affairs office on Saturday.

“While the other two have been hard to save, despite trying several times to pull them to the sea,” said Wayan Nuartha, a local tourism officer at Tanah Lot who also took part in the rescue effort.

According to Ariwangsa, the whales were thought to have been separated from their pod after becoming entangled in fishing nets, as was evidenced by the wounds on their bodies.

“This situation is unpredictable,” he said. “We can only suggest the fishermen let go if they feel something strange in their fishing net. At least by doing this, they can save the whales.”

The fisheries and maritime affairs office also recommended people not take or consume any part of the whales if they could not be saved. “They are better buried instead of eaten. Moreover, they are also protected animals,” Ariwangsa added. He said he was looking for a better way to handle whale beachings and strandings because it had now become a regular occurrence in Bali.

This year alone, there have been at least 11 cases of whales washing up on Bali’s shores.

A humpback whale washed ashore at Yeh Matan Selemadeg in Tabanan on Jan. 2, and a sperm whale at Batubelig Beach in Badung just two weeks later. On the same day, another whale was found at Tejakula Beach in Buleleng.

Eight whales were also found trapped in the mangrove forests at Serangan, south of Denpasar, in early February.

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