Another Dead Dolphin Has Been Sighted In Penang In Less Than A Week
Both of them were found at the Tanjung Bungah beachfront.
By Tang Ruxyn — 05 Jan 2018, 01:38 PM
The carcasses of two dolphins were washed ashore in Penang recently
According to media reports, the first dolphin was spotted on 29 December 2017 while another was found yesterday, 4 January. The first dolphin, an Indo-Pacific Humpback, was already decomposing when it was found.
The Star Online reported environmentalist Andrew Ng Yew Han as saying that the two dolphins were found at the same stretch of beach behind a hotel in Tanjung Bungah within a span of six days.
Ng told the English daily that he has instructed the fishermen and residents’ association to inform him if they discovered any dead sea creatures such as turtles or dolphins, so that he could report them to the authorities to take further action.
"This is to create more awareness and pressure the authorities to investigate such matters as it is vital to find out their cause of death," he was quoted as saying.
It was learned the authorities did not conduct an autopsy (or necropsy) to get to the bottom of the issue when the first dolphin's death was reported to them
This was revealed by NGO Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) who told New Straits Times that the matter was reported to the Department of Fisheries (DOF) Malaysia, but the authorities just "buried it instead of conducting an autopsy".
"We would not know the cause of death unless the department or the Fisheries Research Institute of Malaysia carries out a post-mortem," a SAM representative reportedly said.
While it is uncertain why no post-mortem has been carried out to determine the cause of death, senior lecturer Dr Leela Rajamani from the Centre for Marine and Coastal studies of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has said that the Centre for Marine and Coastal is looking for funding to conduct a post-mortem, as reported by The Star Online.
"A post-mortem is needed to identify their cause of death. We are looking for funding. A proper lab is needed to do a post-mortem," she was quoted as saying.
In August 2016, there was an uproar after a dolphin that is believed to have died from consuming rubbish was spotted in Penang
The carcass of the dolphin was found along the beach off Pulau Jerejak.
Photos of the dolphin went viral on social media, prompting netizens to voice out their concerns over the possible pollution of Penang waters that is killing wildlife.