A dead sperm whale was founded washed up on Yangkou harbour in Jiangsu on Sunday, and the corpse of another was found off Yellow River Bridge the next day just 10 kilometres away from the first.
Jiangsu Marine Fishery Institute director Tang Jianhua confirmed that the two mammals were sperm whales – authorities are currently discussing what to do with them, Chinanews.com reported.
Yin Qiufeng, a fisherman from Changsha, said that he and another were working on the beach when they saw something which resembled a ship.
“We thought that a ship had capsized, but then we realised it was a huge [whale]fish. We didn’t dare walk near it at first because we thought it was still alive,” he said.
Tang said that this was the first time sperm whales had been found in the Nantong district. “Sperm whales are second-grade protected animals in China and are usually active in deepwater areas… sometimes they collide with ships, and they can also be affected by external disturbances which mess with their navigation system, making them lose their way.”
