A 40 Ton Whale Stranded In Balikpapan Bay

The joint team tried to evacuate a whale stranded in the waters of Balikpapan Bay, Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province. BETWEEN THE ANTARA/HO-Polairud Polda Kaltim

BALIKPAPAN - A whale estimated to have a length of 15 meters and a weight of 40 tons was stranded in the waters of Balikpapan Bay, precisely in the Teripip Beach area, East Kalimantan.

"We estimate that the stranded mammal is 15 meters long and weighs 40 tons," explained Binmas Polairud Polda Kaltim Bripka Taufik Ismail as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, September 26.

"The Pope was first found stranded by local fishermen on Wednesday (25/9) afternoon," he added.

The whale was stranded about two miles from the shoreline. The fisherman accidentally saw it in shallow waters and had captured the image and then spread across various social media accounts.

"The fishermen reported the incident and we immediately acted together with the East Kalimantan Fisheries Service and Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA)," said Taufik.

The stranded whale is alive, but it is possible that his health is not 100 percent or is sick.

Furthermore, a number of parties tried their best to save the whale by redirecting it back to the deep sea. But the effort was hindered by unfriendly weather and late times.

"Today efforts are still being made to return the whale to the deep sea," said Taufik.

A number of possible causes of the whales being stranded, one of which is because they got lost due to health factors or were influenced by previous earthquakes.

"Health problems or disturbances by earthquakes, which can affect whale sonar, making it difficult for him to return to the deep sea," said Taufik.