Stray whale seen near Osaka port since January dies

A whale that had strayed into the Port of Sakai-Semboku in Osaka Bay was confirmed dead by experts who examined the mammal, the Osaka Prefectural Government revealed on Monday.

The animal was believed to be a male sperm whale, estimated at 12 meters in length and 20 metric tons in weight.

While the whale had been confirmed alive last Friday (Feb 16), the Japan Coast Guard notified the prefectural government yesterday that the animal was "inactive." 

The whale is thought to have died from debilitation due to the lack of food and shallow water in the area.

The government decided to bury the carcass underground at a facility in the prefectural city of Sakai, then dig it up one or two years later and donate the bones to the Osaka Museum of Natural History. 

The whale had been spotted last month in different waters including those off Kobe's Higashinada Ward in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture and the city of Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture. 

It had been lingering within the Port of Sakai-Semboku since January 23. 

As the whale was initially seen spouting water, the prefectural government and other authorities had been observing its movements. 

In a similar incident, a sperm whale that strayed near the mouth of the Yodo River in Osaka Bay died in January 2023. 

Its carcass was transported by a barge to waters off the Kii Peninsula and buried there. The disposal work cost a total of 80.19 million yen.

(The Mainichi)