Excavation to unearth whale skeleton starts in Cox's Bazar 3-yr after wash-up
The whale, measuring 44 feet in length, washed ashore on the beach in 2021 by the sea tide, and was buried there
After three years of being buried at Himchari beach in Cox's Bazar, the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) commenced excavation to unearth the skeleton of a dead whale, which washed ashore in 2021.
Scientists from the institute began the process on Tuesday afternoon and found the whale's skeleton at 8:30 pm.
According to Towhida Rasheed, the director-general of the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, the excavation team will continue its work on Wednesday to carefully extract the whale's remains from the sands.
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"The skeleton will be preserved at the institute for further research purposes," he added.
However, the preserved whale skeleton is intended to be accessible to the public, allowing them to enjoy the wonder of the remarkable marine find.
Earlier on 10 April 2021, the whale, measuring 44 feet in length, first washed ashore on Himchari beach, propelled by the sea tide. Forest workers, at the time, undertook the task of burying the whale directly on the beach.
Notably, a similar incident occurred on 9 April that year, when another dead whale, measuring 48 feet in length, washed up at Daryanagar beach, just four kilometers north of Himchari beach. The second whale, like its counterpart, was also interred on the beach.
At that time, scientists from the Oceanographic Research Institute collected samples from both dead whales, Professor Towhida Rashid further said.
"The samples underwent testing at the National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB), confirming both whales belonged to the Bride's whale or Bolinopetra Edeni species. Further analysis revealed that the whale that surfaced on 9 April was female, while another one was male," she said.
Sarwar Alam, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Cox's Bazar South Forest Division, said the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute and Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) authorities have sought approval from the Ministry of Forests to preserve the whale skeletons for research purposes. The ministry granted their need.
Scientists of the Oceanographic Research Institute have already started extraction of their allotted whale skeleton while Veterinary University has yet to initiate the process.
Moreover, on 18 April of the same year, another dead whale believed to be of the same species floated ashore on Kalatali beach and was subsequently buried at the location.
