ILOILO City – A sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) was found dead on the shore of Barangay Gabi, Gigantes Sur Island, Carles town in northern Iloilo on Monday morning.
It was the 27-year-old resident Albin Magnate who discovered the 36-feet marine mammal which sustained wounds on the body past 5 a.m. on Feb. 4.
Around 50 people helped to drag the creature near the beach.
According to Magnate, it was the first time that a whale was found in their place. Some residents believe it was a bad omen.
Julito Manggasang, fisheries and aquatic resources management officer of Carles, said the whale died of suffocating after it got tangled with the rope of an anchored motorboat near the shore.
Local officials said cyclone wires will be put around the whale’s body, which will then be buried in cement./PN
