Skeletal remains of dead whale found in Mon State to be exhibited in Museum

IMNA
February 23, 2006

The skeletal remains of a whale, which died in a coastal village of Paung township, Mon state was taken to Rangoon to be displayed in the museum.

This is the second skeletal remains of a whale to be exhibited in Rangoon . The first one was displayed in Rangoon Zoo.

The dead whale was found in Hlart coastal village on January 3, near the Paung pagoda. It was a bowhead whale. The whale was 15 feet wide and 67 feet long. It had circumference of 32 by 6 feet and had wide flippers.

The skeleton was transported after the innards of the mammal had dried and superstitious local villagers cut the meat. Some local villagers took the meat and buried it in four regions (east, west, south and north) of a small pagoda according to a dream they had. They call it (Ka Pound Poart) and they believe the whale to be cleverest animal after humans and elephants.

The authorities, however, did not investigate as to how the whale was died and reached the coast.