Durban -City officials warned that whale meat is not harmful and can be consumed by humans, however, this is not advisable because whales that are stranded on beaches could often be ill.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Mandla Nsele issued the warning after a whale became stranded on Pipeline beach and died on Tuesday.
“The city is aware of the whale that beached. The whale was secured and confined by officials from the relevant City Departments and Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife. It was dead by the time we were notified. A rope has been secured around the carcass and the staff are waiting for the tide to go down before the whale will be cut up and disposed off according to protocol," Nsele said.
Nsele said law enforcement has been deployed to the beach in the interim.
A rope has been attached from the stranded whale to a Tractor Loader Backhoe (TLB) to prevent the whale from floating out to sea.
Andre Beetge, eThekwini ward councillor in Amanzimtoti, said the southern right whale was stranded on the beach in shallow waters on Monday night.
The whale died soon after thrashing about in shallow water on Tuesday morning. The sub-adult humpback whale is between 4 and 6 meters in length said Jennifer Olbers Marine Ecologist at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Olbers said she cannot speculate on why the whale stranded on the beach until proper tests were done.
Beetge said the whale was estimated to be 2 years old and weighed between 6 and 7 tons. The carcass will be cut and disposed of at the Vulamehlo landfill site in line with the marine animal carcass disposal guidelines.