DEAD WHALE
© AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A man taking a closer look at the decomposing carcass of a beached sperm whale, estimated to weigh about 10 tonnes, on a Nurussalam beach in Indonesia's Aceh province yesterday.

"The dead whale... is decomposing," local resident Yunus told Aceh's serambinews.com news site yesterday.

Pictures sent by residents showed that part of the skin of the decomposing whale had peeled off.

In November last year, 10 whales were beached in the same province.

Aceh is Indonesia's northernmost province on Sumatra island, with its western flank facing the Indian Ocean and with the Bay of Bengal to the north.