Dead sperm whale found near Jurong Island

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SINGAPORE: The bloodied carcass of a sperm whale was found off the coast of Jurong Island on Friday morning (Jul 10).

This is the first time that a sperm whale sighting has been recorded in Singapore, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum said on Facebook. Nine of its staff were deployed to salvage the specimen. "It was identified by our curators to be a sperm whale, which is internationally threatened with extinction," the museum added.

According to the museum, the whale is between 10 and 15 metres in length. Sperm whales can grow up to 20 metres. “Currently, the team is trying to secure the whale carcass. The next step will be to try to recover the skeleton and key parts of the carcass for research purposes,” a spokesperson added.

A member of the public, whom they identified as Mr Jailani, had tipped them off. Another member of the public, Christine, emailed Channel NewsAsia photo of the whale, saying it was seen floating in waters near an offshore tank terminal.

The whale is being towed ashore to Tuas Marine Transfer Station for further examination, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Channel NewsAsia understands the carcass may be dissected on Saturday.

-- CNA

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CNA: Dead sperm whale, measuring about 10m taken ashore in Singapore.

FireIce SG

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QX179R SG

SINGAPORE: It could take "up to several weeks" before the rotting carcass of the sperm whale that washed up on Singapore's shores is fully dissected and brought indoors for further examination, staff from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) said.

The main risk: The high likelihood of the whale's decomposing innards exploding, said Mr Foo Maosheng, curator of the cryogenic collection at the LKCNHM.

When Channel NewsAsia visited the location of the carcass at Tuas South on Saturday morning (Jul 11), staff from the museum were seen inserting a straw-like metal rod into various parts of the underside of the whale's belly. This was meant to allow the built-up gas in the belly to be released slowly and safely, Mr Foo said.

"We are now working to extract the part that decomposes fastest: The gut," he said. "First we are releasing air from the gut - it's well known that the gut of a dead whale can explode."

"It's hard to tell how long it will take. This is our first time doing anything like this, it could take at least a week to several weeks to deflesh the whole thing," Mr Foo added. "We are not working through the night. Its not safe to work overnight. It's a biohazard. And there's not much light, we need to stay safe."

Apart from preserving the skeleton for possible display, Mr Foo said they also plan to extract some tissue for DNA tests as well as study the contents of the whale's stomach, which could give some clues on the whale's final days and the route it took to Singapore.

The bloodied carcass of the sperm whale was spotted off the coast of Jurong Island on Friday morning. The whale was finally brought to shore at 9.15pm on Friday evening, after an operation involving various government bodies, including the Maritime Port Authority and the National Environment Agency, who pitched in to help staff from the LKCNHM salvage the carcass.

The age and gender of the whale are not yet known.

"We can't tell it's age for sure but it's young," said Mr Foo. "Males can grow up to 18m. This is 10.6m. We can't tell if it's male or female - the genitals are hidden away."

- CNA/av