Melon-headed whale dies of starvation in Tacloban

A melon-headed whale (Peponecephala electra) died. Contributed BFAR-8

TACLOBAN CITY — A melon-headed whale (Peponecephala electra) died of starvation and parasitism two days after it was washed ashore at the Cancabato Bay in this city.

The whale was sighted near the Alimasag Fisherman area in Cancabato Bay on Dec. 28, a statement of the regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.

The 2.5-meter-long adult marine mammal was brought to the Fishery Law Enforcement Team of the Tacloban city government the following day (Dec. 29) and was reported to the BFAR Fisheries Protection and Law Enforcement Group (FPLEG).

The whale was emaciated, has superficial skin scratches and cookie-cutter shark bites.

Still, the whale was brought back and released to the Cancabato Bay at 10 a.m. that day (Dec.29) as its respiration appeared to be normal and the weather has improved.

However, it re-stranded around 11:30 a.m. near the shore of Leyte Park Hotel and at the old Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in the city.

The FPLEG team brought it to BFAR Coastal Resource Management Center in Barangay Diit, also this city, for temporary care.

However, the shark refused to eat.

The shark was breathing rapidly until it died around 12:30 a.m. on December 30, 2018, BFAR reported.

The whale was buried at the city’s dumpsite in Barangay Santo Niño in the afternoon of that day.

The necropsy report said the whale possibly died of starvation and parasitism.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, an organization that works for nature’s conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, said the melon-headed whale is not in its list of threatened or endangered species.