Residents of the Okpoama community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have reportedly butchered of a stranded giant Whale at the seaside of the Atlantic Ocean, close to the community.
Reports said the stranded Whale, estimated to be about 15 meters long, 5 meters wide and 3 meters high – may have grounded on Tuesday night, due to a low sea wave at the river bank.
When the residents of the community met the stranded Whale on Wednesday morning, they trooped out with machetes, hawk saws and axes to disembark the sea animal for consumption.
Reports quoted Mr. Tarinyo Akono, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Bayelsa State, who is an indigene of the area, as saying that the Whale may have died after it got stranded due to low wave.
He stated that the animal was washed ashore in the night when people had gone to sleep, adding that if it were found alive, maybe it could have been rescued and sent back to the sea.
The Youth President of the Okpoama community, Engr Seiyefa Felix Ben-Basuo, who confirmed the incident, said people were at the waterside butchering the animal.
Not a few believe that he high tide from the river due to the rainy season might have brought the animal to the river bank before it was stranded.
In August 2019, a similar giant Whale got stranded at the same waterside and was also butchered for consumption by the residents.
