Sperm whales, the world’s largest predators, are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being “vulnerable” to extinction.
Vets and forensic experts have arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the whale’s death, and its carcass will be buried in the coming days.
“Today we will conduct a necropsy test, and after that we will get an excavator to try to bury the carcass nearby,” Yudiarso said.
Police cordoned off the beach in Bali’s Klungkung regency to stop the theft of the whale’s meat or body parts.
Yudiarso said whales usually come closer to the shore when they are sick or dying.
In 2018, a sperm whale was found dead in Indonesia with more than 100 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach, raising concerns about the Southeast Asian archipelago’s massive marine rubbish problem.
Indonesia is the world’s second-biggest contributor to marine debris after China.