Dead sperm whale, spinner dolphin found off Dauin, Negros Oriental

DUMAGUETE CITY  , Philippines  â€”  A rotten carcass of a sperm whale was found floating off the coast of Dauin town in Negros Oriental at around 7 a.m. Wednesday by fishermen and Bantay Dagat members who towed it close to shore for proper disposition.

Four hours later, or about 11 a.m., a dead male spinner dolphin was also found floating off Masaplod Norte in Dauin, and was brought to the Silliman University marine laboratory for examination. Initial inspection by Dr. Alessandro Ponzo of the Large Marine Vertebrae (LAMAVE) Project in the Philippines, showed there were no indications of injuries but a closer examination can determine the dolphin's cause of death.

A pumpboat towed the carcass, believed to weigh about 2,000 kilos to shore while waiting for authorities to decide on how to dispose of it, said Roland Tuble, president of the Masaplod Norte Fishermen's Association (MANFA) and a Bantay Dagat member. He said part of the carcass was already submerged underwater with bits of flesh being torn off by the waves.

Dauin Mayor Neil Credo ordered the carcass transported to another part of the beach with road access so it can be chopped down into pieces and buried at a local cemetery to avoid contamination of the sea waters. By 3 p.m., Ponzo and SU's marine biologist Jean Utzurrum arrived to measure the sperm whale, collect specimens and help in the disposition of the carcass.

Ponzo confirmed it was a sperm whale — the largest toothed whale —of the sub-order Odonteceti. "It is easy to recognize because of only one blow hole on the left side of the head," he said, adding that they will conduct a necropsy on the marine mammal.

Ponzo said it could have been dead for days or a week, judging from its state of decomposition, but its cause of death may be difficult to determine although he said it might be trauma due to being hit by a ship. He also could not give an estimate of how big the whale was because the carcass recovered was just part of the head, with the other half of the body and tail could have probably been lost at sea.

The lower jaw measured about two to three meters, Ponzo said. Judging from the measurement of the head alone of about four to five meters, he believed the length of the sperm whale was between 12 to 15 meters, considering that the head alone is about a third of the entire span of the marine mammal.

The stranding of the sperm whale is "quite rare" as the occurrence is reported at least four or five times in the Bohol Sea alone in ten years, added Ponzo.  (FREEMAN)