Another sperm whale found dead in Laoag City

BAGUIO City, Philippines – Local villagers found a dead giant sperm whale along the shoreline in a coastal village in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte on Sunday.

The dead whale was the second recovered within a period of four days along the shorelines of the province of Ilocos Norte.

Ilocos Norte’s Fishery Regulatory Coordinator Arthur Valente said the dead sperm whale measured 22.3 meters long and 3.5 meters wide and approximated to weigh between 70 and 80 tons.

Valente said that the whale could have been dead for almost a week because its body was already in a state of decomposition when it was found in Barangay Navotas.

“The whale’s body had multiple wounds. However, I am not sure if this had caused its death. We are also looking at the possibility that the cause of the whale’s death had something to do with the effect of climate change,” he added.

The government fishery regulatory officer disclosed that necropsy is no longer necessary as it was already under the state of decomposition.

Laoag City government engineers have dug a grave for the giant sperm whale, already the sixth stranded in the coastal areas in Ilocos Norte since January this year. Only one of the six whales was recovered alive.

Last Thursday, a 250-kilogram endangered dwarf sperm whale specie was also found along the shoreline in Barangay Susugaen in Pasuquin town.

The giant sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus) is the world’s largest toothed whale.