whale shark
An 18.8-foot-long whale shark (Rhincodon typus) that was rescued by the forest department personnel in the Tuticorin Range of Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park on Wednesday night was found dead close to the same place on Thursday morning.

An autopsy revealed that the juvenile female whale shark had suffered an injury behind the head and could have been hit by the propeller of a deep sea fishing boat.

Forest range officer of Tuticorin Range R Raghuvaran told TOI that they were not aware of the injury when the whale shark weighing about one tonne was spotted close to the shore at Inigo Nagar near Tuticorin city around 7.30 pm on Wednesday. "It was struggling in shallow waters and could not get back to the deep sea. With the help of fishermen, we took it around 10 nautical miles off the coast and released it around 8.30 pm," he said.


Source: TNN