Blue whale washed ashore Navi Mumbai beach to be preserved at mangrove cell museum

Four days after the carcass of a 43-foot blue whale washed ashore at Kegaon Beach near Uran, Navi Mumbai, the state mangrove cell transported the mammal’s skeleton to the Marine Mammal Museum at Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre at Airoli, Navi Mumbai on Monday.

State mangrove cell officials confirmed the mammal was male sub-adult blue whale, the largest known mammal in the world, which is protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Officials said over the past three days they removed the skin and organs and buried it at a sandy patch at Kegaon Beach itself. “Twenty people, 15 forest officers, and police personnel removed the mammal’s flesh over the past three days. It was a difficult process, as the stench of the carcass was unbearable,” said Makarand Ghodke, assistant conservator of forest, state mangrove cell, who led the exercise.

On Monday, the 10m (32ft) skeleton and 2.5m (8.2ft) head and jaw of the mammal were transported using excavator machines and a 40-ft freight trailer.

“Hundred labourers, 30 police and forest officers helped in transporting the bones of the mammal. Mumbai will now have the preserved skeletal remains of the world’s largest mammal, which will boost research studies related to marine mammals along the Konkan coast,” said Ghodke.