Wildlife authorities of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday inspected the skeleton of the sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), which is being conserved by local people at Nagayalanka village in Krishna district.
Rajahmundry Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) V. Prabhakara Rao and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Research Co-ordinator Rama Subramanyam collected data about the procurement and preservation of the 30-foot-long skeleton.
According to a team of locals led by aqua farmer T. Raghu Sekhar, the skeleton was found off Nagayalanka coast in August.
“The mammal is a schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It attracts conservatory measures on the lines of that of the tiger. Skeletons of sperm whale are now available in Chennai and Andhra University in south India”, said Mr. Rao. “We have expertise to conserve the skeleton at our marine park at Koringa Wildlife Sanctuary in East Godavari district. We will encourage the local communities to collect any remains of the rare marine species if they are found ashore dead”, he said.
In collaboration with Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, and professors, the wildlife authorities will complete the task of arranging the bones of the sperm whale in an order based on its anatomy structure.
The wildlife authorities lauded the efforts of local youth in preserving the skeleton, which was kept on display on the left bank of river Krishna . The Rajahumundry-based wildlife division has also promised to provide video screening facility to the Nagayalanka youths. The public screening on the conservation was meant for propagating the rich marine ecology and species in Bay of Bengal.
