PHUKET: Marine biologists from Phuket are hoping to head back to Phuket with the head of a sperm whale that was washed ashore north of Phuket this week.
Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong and his team from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre knew the whale was big but the whale exceeded expectations.
It measured 10 metres and weighed more than four tonnes, Dr Kongkiat said.
The biologists were hoping to work out a way of preserving the whale's entire body but the creature probably died at sea sometime before it was washed ashore at Bangsak beach, in Phang Nga province.
As a result, the carcass was already in the process of deterioration before the biologists reached it.
While the whale seems big, fully grown sperm whales can reach 20 metres. The species was once highly sought after by hunters and is continuing to recover in numbers.
Large pods of sperm whales can be found at the edge of the continental shelf off Phuket and the Andaman coast, where their diet is mostly squid.
It's not known what the biologists plan for the head, but the skeletal remains would make an addition to the centre's marine exhibitions once their research into why the whale died is complete.
The local council near the tourist township of Khao Lak plans to use a backhoe to bury the rotting carcass as soon as possible once the biologists have examined it.
Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong and his team from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre knew the whale was big but the whale exceeded expectations.
It measured 10 metres and weighed more than four tonnes, Dr Kongkiat said.
The biologists were hoping to work out a way of preserving the whale's entire body but the creature probably died at sea sometime before it was washed ashore at Bangsak beach, in Phang Nga province.
As a result, the carcass was already in the process of deterioration before the biologists reached it.
While the whale seems big, fully grown sperm whales can reach 20 metres. The species was once highly sought after by hunters and is continuing to recover in numbers.
Large pods of sperm whales can be found at the edge of the continental shelf off Phuket and the Andaman coast, where their diet is mostly squid.
It's not known what the biologists plan for the head, but the skeletal remains would make an addition to the centre's marine exhibitions once their research into why the whale died is complete.
The local council near the tourist township of Khao Lak plans to use a backhoe to bury the rotting carcass as soon as possible once the biologists have examined it.
