Public advised: Don’t bathe near whale’s grave

The carcass of the 50 foot whale which beached itself off La Brea for three days was yesterday buried in the sand at Guapo beach, Point Fortin. A team of veterinarians from the Mt Hope Veterinarian Hospital, led by Professor John Cooper, performed a necropsy, where tissue of the carcass was removed for testing to determine its cause of death. EMA’s Corporate Communica-tion’s Officer, Alicia Charles, said as a safety precaution they are advising members of the public to desist from bathing in the Clifton Hill area for the next few days.

She said it was felt that burial was the best and safest way of  disposing of the carcass. Even though officials of the Solid Waste Management took sanitary precautions, Charles said to be absolutely safe they recommend that the public desist from bathing there. She said following the necropsy, which took over two hours,  Bechtel assisted them in excavating a hole in the sand to dispose of the animal. The whale, which was first spotted near Almond Beach last Sunday, turned up dead at Guapo beach, on Friday morning. The 30-tonne mammal attracted hundreds of persons to the beach, some waiting to butcher the animal when it died and others trying to save its life.