Gigantic Bryde’s whale draws crowds at Mumbai beach

Mumbai: A 30-feet-long whale washed up at the Juhu beach in Mumbai on Thursday night. Experts say the whale, weighing around four tonnes, had died at sea.

Based on the investigation, it is said that it may have died two one or two days ago.

While stranding of whales and other marine mammals like dolphins is not uncommon, mass beaching has baffled scientists for years.

The post mortem of the whale will ascertain the exact cause of the death.

“We will deflate the carcass on the beach itself, otherwise it could explode”, Assistant Conservator of Forest (Mangroves Protection Cell) Makrand Ghodke was quoted as saying by DNA. The police and forest department officials are examining the huge animal. Two hydraulic cranes will be pressed into action to move the carcass to Airoli, on Friday morning.

In June, a 42-foot-long blue whale washed ashore near Alibaug, a coastal town lying around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra.

Hundreds of people descended on Juhu beach in the north of the teeming western Indian city to catch a glimpse of the Bryde’s whale after it washed ashore late Thursday. Unfortunately, the rare sea creature had died despite efforts by the locals and the forest guards to push it back into the water.