Whale’s carcass moved to open sea

 By JASON GIMA WURI

THE decomposing carcass of the whale that was beached up in Beama village in Oro Bay, Northern,  last week has been removed by emergency workers with the help of police and local villagers.

In fear of the bad odour and oil from the decomposing whale endangering villages along Oro Bay, the provincial disaster and emergency coordinator Albert Bogembo quickly led his team of workers in the operation to remove the whale before New Year.

“We did not burn the carcass of the whale as planned because of the dangers it might give  from the excess oil from the body.

“By burning the whale, it could have easily endangered the villages and communities along Oro Bay.

“And with the main wharf’s oil tankers and fuel tanks in close proximity it could pose real danger to a lot more people in the area,” Bogembo said.

“To leave it to rot could have brought about health concerns for the villages by easily polluting the waterways used by the locals,” he added.

Bogembo said they arranged for four dinghies in the operation to move the carcass of the whale some 35-40km out to open sea.

The operation could not be completed since the idea of burning it in open sea was delayed by sharks trying to eat the dead whale.

The emergency team left the mammal’s carcass out in open sea in the hope that it would not drift back to the mainland.

“We could not completely dispose of the whale because there was the threat from a number of sharks that were trying to attack us, so we left it anchored.

“Currently, we are monitoring and observing the movement of the whale’s carcass just in case parts of it eaten by the sharks may deteriorate and float back with the tides to the shore,” Bogembo said.

“There was a call from Hudson Sebora, a local in the province, saying that the carcass of the whale had drifted into Bakubari village in the North Coast.

“But the emergency team has already been deployed to closely monitor it,” he added.