Whale Beaching at Trisik Beach: Yogyakarta, Central Java

It always saddens me when one of the ocean’s most beautiful creatures comes to grief and beaches itself. I was once involved with the saving of a small pod of whales off the West Australian coast a few years back whilst on holiday and it is an emotional time.

Why whales beach themselves has always been an enigma for scientists and speculation is rife. Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, the whale that beached itself recently at Trisik Beach south of Yogyakarta was deceased. Here’s the article from the Antara News:

A seven-meter long whale was found washed ashore and dead on Trisik beach at Galur subdistrict, Kulongprogo district in Yogyakarta, central part of Java, on Monday.

The decomposed body of the giant whale was first discovered by Muji, a local fisherman, about one kilometer east of fish auction port at the beach.

Muji said the sea mammal most probably had died in the sea for more than a week before it was washed ashore on the beach because it began to decompose when he found it.

After the finding, he immediately informed the local people who then used a rope to pull the whale to the land but after four hours they were unable to remove it.

Meanwhile, another fisherman Zaenuri said he had no clue as to why the whale died, but he added that it might cease to live because of illness or old age.

“The local farmers at the beach plan to bury the whale as soon as possible because it made a terrible fishy smell all over the beach,” Zaenuri said, adding that whales were frequently washed ashore on the Trisik beach.