DAILY EXPRESS
Special Reports
Published on: Saturday, February 11, 2012
By: Kan Yaw Chong
ANOTHER 40ft whale ran aground and died on our beach.
The latest baleen whale which died on the pristine beach of Pulau Mengalum early February is one of about 2,000 whales and dolphins which beach and died annually, around the world.
While a 40-footer is not the biggest, it is enough to strike great awe on most Sabahans, like entertainer Sammy Ariffin Khan who picked up the phone to alert Daily Express about his maiden encounter with a whale and gave us front page story Saturday (Feb 11), as we headed for Mengalum to check it out, with the Fishery Department officers.
Since whales remain the biggest living giants on planet Earth, Sabahans should use this experience to gain insight into why these symbols of Earth beach themselves and die in such big numbers nowadays.
The latest whale death arrived just as Sabahans, especially KK folks are about to forget the big fuss around a 20m Bryde's whale which ran aground near Kg Lokurai, Gaya Island, and died on Dec 15, 2006, another reminder of that great whale mystery that is making front page news.
The largest-ever individual whale on record was a 34m or 110ft long Blue whale and weight wise, the record is 172,330kg or a 380,000Ibs individual.
From all accounts, such giants that roam the boundless oceans perform a vital function in term of productivity, growth and health of the marine ecosystem.
Their sheer size inspires not only charisma, it also makes them extremely mobile, which travel more than any other vertebrates in the oceans.
A whale can swim from the frigid poles to the tropics and back in a matter of months.
This means their influence is not confined locally but global.
The baleen whale that has died in Pulau Mengalum for instance, is a filter feeder.
Its massive jaws are equipped with baleen plates growing down on either side from the roof of their mouth.
These plates, made of horny material, are set 1-3cm apart and fringed internally with fibres which form a sieve designed to filter out food from the water it swallows.
Some baleen whales actually swim with their big mouths open.
As it closes its mouth, water is forced out between the baleen plates and food such as krills (tiny shrimps) or schools of tiny fish are trapped and swallowed.
Because whales are big, they also eat big on a daily basis.
A Blue whale for example, is known to consume several tons of krills a day.
What this means is whales actually exert great influence in controlling the populations of their preys, keeping them from explosive growth which can otherwise overwhelm and harm the functions and biodiversity of the marine ecosystem.
But just as whales eat big, they also poop big.
Prolific whale stools work in a way that boosts the carbon storage capacity of the oceans in a surprise way making ocean the biggest carbon sink on planet Earth. This means whales play a vital role in ensuring climate stability of planet Earth.
How can that be? According to marine biologist of the Australian Antartical Division, Stephen Nichol, whale faeces provide up to 12pc of soluble iron to the surface waters of the Southern Ocean which stimulate the growth of carbon sequesting phytoplanktons.
"If you add soluble iron to the ocean, you get an instant phytoplankton growth," Nichol said.
During photosynthesis, phytoplanktons pull carbon from the atmosphere to manufacture simple sugars and carbohydrates.
A byproduct of that photosynthetic process is oxygen.
In fact, phytoplanktons in the ocean generate about 60pc of the supply of oxygen this way.
So, the indirect contribution of whale in oxygenating the world is immeasurable.
Besides, phytoplanktons also form the base of the food web of the marine ecosystem, which feeds newly spawned fish.
So, the world needs to care for the wellbeing ad survival of whales.
Sabahans need to play an active part in the protection of whales.
The spate of whales running aground and die in Sabah should be a stimulus in learning more about this enormous creature.
According to Joseph Wong, manager of Mangalum Tours & Dive Resort, two massive whales had beached and died on the island in two years.
In fact, an even bigger whale ran aground and died near the resort on Jan 27, 2010.
Why are they beaching? Some marine scientists claim that whales beach and die for all sorts of reasons.
But we need a better insight into the specific reason why there is a rising trend of whales beaching and die, sometimes in big numbers together in order to deal with the root cause.?
They can't be all sick at the same time.
According to Captain David William, a captain at sea, the real reason is pressure injury inflicted to the biosonar navigation systems from intense sonar waves from submarines and air cannons from the oil industry, which cause whales to lose their direction and the ability to dive in search of food.
We will look into this issue next Sunday's Special Report.
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