At 10am yesterday (May31), Director of the Phuket Department of Marine and Coastal Resources’ (DMCR) Conservation Division Mr Suchart Rattanaruengsri received a report from lifeguards at Surin Beach in Cherng Talay that the remains of a large whale had been found floating about 500 metres off shore.
Director of the Public Health and Environment office of Cherng Talay Local Administrative Organisation (OrBorJor), Ms Patsorn Visudthiwatcharakul, together with a vet from the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biology Centre (PMBC), Mr Janevit Vanit, arrived at the scene to find that the carcass had already been towed to shore by Mr Wirun Chuea-saman, 48, head of the Surin-Bang Tao lifeguards using a jet-ski.
Ms Patsorn said, “Residents and tourists who had been in the area were warned to wear masks and to take a shower when they returned home as we were concerned that bacteria from the carcass may have spread."
“The Cherng Talay OrBorJor were called and quickly buried what remained of the sperm whale,” she said.
Mr Janevit added, “It was the carcass of a sperm whale. We collected some samples from the carcass to test at the laboratory so we can find what caused its death.”