Rotting whale lures sharks in Kei Mouth area
A starved 12.3m humpback whale washed up between Kei River mouth and Small Beach in front of the local caravan park and died this week.
Lynne Mundell, member of the Kei Mouth Revival Group said: “The whale washed up on the beach on Sunday.
“It is now bloated and stinks. We are afraid that the carcass is a health and environmental hazard.”
She said the carcass attracted sharks at high tide.
“We have seen sharks attempting to get close to the whale. We saw a lot of shark fins,” said Mundell.
Kevin Cole, chief scientist at the East London Museum, said he had examined the whale and identified it as a humpback.
He said he too a saw a number of sharks trying to feed off the huge blubbery animal.
“The whale died of natural causes. It was underfed and emaciated. The weight of it’s body caused its organs to fail.
“The Great Kei Municipality was on site. However, they cannot act until they receive a permit to remove the carcass from the department of environmental affairs.
“The whale will be disposed at a landfill site, away from human interaction,” said Cole...
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