Meanwhile, the local administration is now trying to preserve the dead whale. If this is not possible then the upazila administration is considering burying the body.
“The dead whale belonged to the baleen species. It is suspected that the whale died about a week ago. However, the cause of death needs to be investigated,” said KM Bachchu, convener of the Coastal Environment Protection Movement.
Mir Mohammad Ali, a researcher and teacher at the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, identified the carcass as that of a baleen whale after examining photographs of the remains.
He described the whale’s stranding on the Kuakata coast as an ‘alarming signal’ for the marine ecosystem. However, determining the actual cause of death will require scientific testing or an autopsy. Dead or weakened whales can wash ashore for a variety of reasons, including entanglement in fishing nets, ship strikes, disease, plastic pollution, lack of food, or strong ocean currents.