ANDA – Rescuers belonging to the Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals have buried a dead two-meter dwarf sperm whale ( Kogia sima) found floating lifeless in a mangrove area of coastal Barangay Suba here, about 100 kms. From Tagbilaran City, Dr. Alessandro Ponzo of the Physallus, a group of marine conservationists working here said. “On March 5, 2012 members of the NGO Physalus were called out to Barangay Suba in Anda, Bohol by the Anda Tourism Officer Arvin Rubillo, to respond to a whale stranding as members of BRUMM (Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals),” Ponzo said in his e-mail to this writer. “This is the first stranded dwarf sperm whale in Bohol since the 1990's,” Ponzo said. The species identification of the whale was confirmed by Physalus team members Dominic Clarke and Josh Silberg aided by local Municipal Agricultural Officer Teodoro ‘Jandy’ Jandayan of this town.

It was not immediately known what really cause the death “due to the highly decomposed state of the whale but lesions in the tail area could suggest the entanglement in a fishing net.” The body has been buried following standard protocol to be able to recover the skeleton and display it as a tool to raise awareness and educate both tourists and the local population. “Members of Physalus’ Large Marine Vertebrates Project have sighted dwarf sperm whales during the past 2 years in the waters of the municipalities of Anda, Jagna and Baclayon, usually in small groups of 4 to 7 animals. Little is known about their biology and status and every stranding is an incredible opportunity to learn more about these animals and be able to protect them for the generation to come,” he said.