Some of the villagers releasing the smaller whale that was alive back to the sea.
MIRI: Two whales of the Pygmy Sperm species were found washed ashore at Kampung Masjid, a fishing village in Kuala Baram, yesterday.
According to village head Yusree Zainuzzaman, a fisherman had earlier asked for help from the villagers around 1pm to rescue a whale which was still alive.
He said they immediately pulled the mammal, a protected species, back to the sea.
A few minutes later, he said they found another whale from the same species which was bigger than the first one some 500 metres from the spot where the first one was found.
However, the whale had died, he added.
Iqbal recording some data after checking the carcass of the whale which was washed ashore at Kampung Masjid, Kuala Baram.
Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) Miri treasurer Iqbal Abdollah, when contacted by The Borneo Post, confirmed the case.
Iqbal, who is a member of Special Interest Group (SIG) in MNS which focuses on marine life, said the dead mammal was a female adult whale.
“The dead adult female whale was about 2.92 metres long,” he said, adding that he went to the scene for data recording.
As the first mammal appeared smaller than the dead one, he suspected they could be mother and baby.
“I couldn’t get the actual measure of the surviving whale as it had been released back to the sea before I reached the scene.
“Based on the detail and the picture that the villager showed to me, it is estimated that the ‘baby whale’ could be about 1.8 metres long.”
He said Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) had been informed of the case.