In This Week, The Kupang BKKPN Recorded 10 Whales Stranded In NTT Waters

Residents hug a Sperm whale stranded in the waters of Kupang City. BETWEEN/Ho-Humas BKKPN.

KUPANG - The Kupang National Water Conservation Area (BKKPN) reported that over the past week there have been 10 whale mammales stranded in a number of water areas in East Nusa Tenggara. Head of the Kupang BKKPN, Imam Fauzi, said that as many as 10 whale mammals were stranded in three different locations in the island-based province. " “ So, the mammal was stranded not in one place, but scattered in three different regions,”" he told ANTARA in Kupang, Thursday, April 6. For those stranded in Kupang City and North Central Timor Regency (TTU), one whale is Sperm and still alive. The Pope was then released into the middle of the sea by fishermen and BKKPN officers and related agencies. Meanwhile, the remaining eight stranded in Sabu Raijua district with whales stranded were the Melon Head Whale or Melon Headed Whale (Peponocephala electra). Of the eight tails, it was found that two residents were dead and rotting, while the other six were alive and then released back into the sea. Imam explained that many of the Whale's mammals were stranded in the coastal areas of NTT, especially on the island of Timor, because the waters north of Timor Island are one of the habitats and corridors for migration from marine mammals. BKKPN itself, continued Imam, has always conducted surveys of the spread of the Queen of Whales in the waters of NTT and the results of surveys on the spread and appearance of marine mammals, it is known that the spread of it stops in the north of Timor Island, which is classified as a high corridor category. “Survey shows that the spread of whale stops in the waters north of Timor Island is indeed quite high, he added.

The reason, continued Imam, is because the frequency of emergence and diversity is quite high. Therefore, it is not surprising that in this region there is often a phenomenon of stranded marine mammals such as the Kerdil Sperm whale and the Melon Head Whale.