Mumbai: 35-ft long dead whale washes ashore Juhu beach

The unexplained beaching of dead dolphins and whales continues on the western coastline. This time around, a huge dead whale was spotted on Juhu beach on Thursday night.

The dead mammal, identified as a Bryde's Whale, was noticed by joggers at around 9 pm on the suburban beach. According to forest officials, the whale measured around 35 - 40 feet, approximately weighing around three to four tonnes. 

"From initial examination, the whale seems to have died a day or two back. It bloated and was then carried in by the tide to the beach," said Assistant Conservator of Forest (Mangroves Protection Cell) Makrand Ghodke.

He added that internal decomposition of the organs had already started, and the outer skin of the whale, around the tail and stomach had started to peel off. 

"We will deflate the carcass on the beach itself, otherwise it could explode," Ghodke added.

This comes on the heels of over 80 whales getting beached in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, on 12 January this year, leading to the death of around 45 whales.

Autopsy at the spot on Juhu beach

The carcass has no evident signs of injuries. The team extracted tissue samples for forensic analysis at a lab in Kalina. 

There are four veterinarians who will perform the autopsy at the spot on Juhu beach, and then move the carcass to the forest department’s conservatory in Airoli. 

Officials plan to preserve the skeletal structure of this whale at the information centre in Airoli of Navi Mumbai. 

However, although the whale is considerably young and hasn’t reached full maturity as per its size and weight, it is still too heavy to be moved by human effort. Two hydraulic cranes will be pressed into action to move the carcass to Airoli, on Friday morning.

Ghodke added that this was the second biggest whale to have beached on the western coastline following the washing ashore of the Giant Blue Whale at Alibaugh, last year.

Upon checking the exact species of the whale, veterinarian Himanshu Damle, who is assisting the Forest department with the necropsy of the carcass, confirmed it to be of the Bryde's Whale.

"The carcass belongs to the Bryde's Whale species, which are very similar to other whale species like Blue, Fin and Sei," Damle said.

Hundreds flock to take photos

As news of the dead whale beaching at Juhu spread, hundreds of citizens swarmed to the beach trying to take photographs. The Juhu Police were pressed into crowd management with barricading ropes and extra patrolling to prevent people from going near the carcass. Extra personnel from Coastal Police unit were also roped in.

Whale to be moved today

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be providing two cranes to move the behemoth mammal on Friday morning. 

Forest officials have called in a trailer truck, upon which the dead whale will be loaded to be taken to Airoli.

Part of the beach where the whale carcass lies has also been cordoned off. A team of around 50, including Mumbai Police, BMC and Forest officers, will be manning the operation.