APM personnel removes the carcass from the beach.
MIRI: A dolphin believed to be a female Orcaella Brevirostris or Irrawaddy dolphin was found washed ashore dead here yesterday.
Civil Defence Force (APM) officer Capt (PA) Mohd Hazle Shah Abdul Hamid said civilians who were cleaning the Esplanade beach found the carcass of the 176cm dolphin and immediately alerted them at 10.22am.
A team comprising eight personnel led by PS13 (PA) Alwie Mumin rushed to the scene and arrived seven minutes later.
“They then immediately informed Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), resulting in its local chapter chairman Iqbal Abdollah arriving at the scene at 11.29am to check on the condition of the carcass for recording purposes. The dolphin is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is considered a threatened species.
“It is believed that the dolphin died elsewhere and was washed ashore during high tide. There are marks around its fins which indicate it had been trapped in a net,” he added.
The carcass was later buried at the beach by APM personnel while the case was handed over to Sarawak Forestry Corporation for further investigation. When contacted, a SFC representative said the cause of death had not been ascertained.