Dead whale examined by biologists at Cape Panwa

CAPE PANWA: A dead whale was brought by fisherman from Phang Nga Bay to the Phuket Marine Biological Center this morning for an autopsy. Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, a biologist at the Center, identified the 4.3 meter long animal as a Bryde’s Whale of one to two years of age. He told the Gazette that the ‘fragrant’ whale had been dead for about four days and was starting to decompose, making it difficult to determine the cause of death. Khun Kongkiat felt, however, that the mammal died because it got lost; there were no signs of injury and it was of a species not normally found in Phang Nga Bay. The Phuket Marine Biological Center will keep the bones for educational purposes and some of the skin for DNA information.