10-metre whale carcass discovered in Mirs Bay, Hong Kong authorities say

A severely decomposed 10-metre-long (33-foot-long) whale carcass has been found in Mirs Bay, Hong Kong conservation authorities have said.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said on Friday that it had received a police report the previous day about the discovery of a carcass in Mirs Bay, a body of water off northeastern Hong Kong near the Sai Kung peninsula and bordering mainland China.

A preliminary assessment by a veterinarian from Ocean Park’s response team found that the carcass measured about 10 metres in length, but the species of whale could not currently be identified because of its severe decomposition.

The department said it was preliminarily believed to be a baleen whale.

It said the advanced state of decomposition made a necropsy to determine the cause of death impossible, adding that staff would continue to process the carcass, which was expected to be completed on Friday evening.

“The deceased whale was not a local species. Based on the degree of decomposition of the carcass, it is estimated to have been dead for some time,” it said.