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KOTA KINABALU: The Bryde’s whale which died despite valiant
efforts to save it will live on in the hearts of the people
here.
Efforts are under way to save its bones for the purpose of
putting its skeletal frame on display, now that Chief Minister
Datuk Seri Musa Aman has given the green light.
Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Karim
Bujang said the Fisheries Department, Sabah Parks, state museum
and Universiti Malaysia Sabah would co-ordinate efforts.
However, the Bryde’s (pronounced "Bro-dess") whale’s final
resting place has yet to be decided.
"But it will definitely be a place where the public, and not
just researchers, will have access to it," said Karim.
"It’s very exciting. It’s not often that we have such a
magnificent creature washed up on our shores. There were many
volunteers who tried to save it. Now, we can commemorate the
event in a meaningful way."
The decomposing carcass is currently at sea, some five nautical
miles from Gaya island, where it was first spotted last Friday
in an area called Lok Taman.
The injured whale, which had beached itself, was freed and towed
out to sea following a day-long effort by numerous people. Hopes
were high that it would survive, but it was found dead on Sunday
at the same spot where it had been stranded.
Should it be displayed at the Labuan Marine Museum, it will have
the skeletal remains of a 7.3 metre-long Indian Fin Whale for
company.
The Indian Fin Whale beached in Malacca in 1892, and its
skeleton remains are said to be worth RM500,000 because of its
age and historical value. |
There is also
a 6.1m-long Cuvier’s beaked whale at the Universiti Malaysia
Sabah Aquarium and Marine Museum.
Its carcass was found in Kampung Mimpian Jadi in Tuaran in 1997.
Researchers buried the carcass to decompose it before putting
its bones together for display.
Fisheries Department director Rayner Stuel Galid said the
carcass of the Bryde’s whale was still afloat and it would be a
long time before the bones could be retrieved.
"We will
confer with the technical experts on the best way to proceed,"
he said, adding that the department welcomed the government’s
decision to fund the salvage operation.
UMS Borneo Marine Research Institute mammal expert Dr Saifullah
Jaaman said the university was looking forward to conducting
research on and collecting samples from the specimen.
"We are overjoyed that the state government will be financing
the project and we will do our best in this collaborative
effort," he said.
"It will definitely be a boon to our research efforts, and it
will also generate more educational interest and environmental
awareness among the public."
Dr Saifullah said that the best way to prevent the whale’s bones
from getting lost was to let it decompose naturally in shallower
waters so that loose bones could be retrieved.
"Another option is to put netting around the carcass to keep it
intact and hope the bones don’t fall out, even as marine
scavengers get at it." |
