Beached blue whale perfect educational tool, says KEPS

KUWAIT, March 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS) urged authorities to make use of the recently beached blue whale at Failaka Island as an educational tool for students and the public alike, a statement by the Society said on Saturday.
KEPS's director Wijdan Al-Eqab indicated in a press statement that the bone or skeleton structure of the dead whale should be preserved and made ready for display to the public at one of the museums in the country, preferably at the Science Musuem.
This beached whale at Failaka Island has been found to be between 15 to 20 meters long. Blue whales are known to be the largest mammals on earth whose size could exceed 30 meters long.
Al-Eqab said that word has reached KEPS through the social media that two more beached whales have been found, one at the Abul-Hasania Beach and another at the Jelaia'a Beach, both being of a much smaller size than the blue whale at Failaka Island. In fact the size of the small ones ranged between one and one-and-a-half meters, said the director.
She added that blue whales roam many areas in the world including the Indian Ocean from which the beached one at Failaka Island most probably came. She also guessed that the whale had likely lost its way and was carried off by swift currents to the Arabian Gulf. No reason for its death has been determined as of yet, she said. (end) zak.ajs KUNA 011611 Mar 14NNNN