This is the carcass of the sperm whale that was found floating off the waters of Getafe town in Bohol. | screengrab from video
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The carcass of the sperm whale that was found on the shore of Banacon Island, Getafe town in Bohol, will undergo a necropsy to determine the cause of its death.
This was revealed by Getafe Mayor Cayeh Monillas Camacho in a Facebook post.
He said that the necropsy procedure would be initiated on Thursday, December 19, 2024.
He said a team from Manila would handle the necropsy.
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Camacho said that they also plan to remove the dead whale and bury it after the necropsy.
The mayor, however, believed that the sperm whale might have swam to the shallow part of the sea and was not able to return to the deep portion of the seawater.
“Mura naabot siya sa hunasan (unya) wala kabalik a lawom, patay na kining nakit-an pagkabuntag,” Camacho said in a post.
(It seems that it reached the shallow portion (and) it failed to return to the deeper portion of the sea, it already died in the morning.)
He said that even before, he already heard stories from his “Lola Asing” regarding the presence of sperm whales in Getafe.
Stories from lola
“I’ve heard stories from my lola Asing nga naa daghan lumod sa dagat sa Getafe ug moadto sila sa Cebu sa bata pa sila probably in the 1930s and 40s. Now, I’m really seeing one in my backyard but this one is a sad story,” the mayor’s post read.
(I’ve heard stories from my Lola Asing that there were many whales in the seas of Getafe when they would go to Cebu when they were young probably in the 1930s and 40s. Now, I’m really seeing one in my backyard but this one is a sad story.)
In a post on Amego’s Tv Adventure, they described the sperm whale having some wounds on its body.
The sperm whale has a height of 14.40 meters and a diameter of 6 meters.
It also was estimated to weigh up to two tons.