© HT photoRajodi fishermen trying to push the whale back into the sea.
In a rare incident along the state's coastline, a seven-and-a-half-foot-long sperm whale washed ashore at Rajodi beach, Virar, around 3pm on Thursday.
Though the state mangrove cell confirmed that it was a sperm whale, the officials are unclear whether it was a juvenile whale or a pygmy or a dwarf (subspecies). The whale weighed 60 kg.
Fishermen from Rajodi said they spotted the whale close to the shoreline towards the south side of the beach and it looked injured.
"The mammal most likely hit a large rock close to the shoreline and got injured. We tried pulling it out, but it died as soon as it came close to the beach. We informed the forest department but nobody showed up at the spot," said James Rodrigues, a fisherman and Rajodi beach resident. "Along with seven others, we buried the animal near the spot where it had washed ashore. We have not seen a mammal like this at this beach before."
Comment: See also: 36 whales wash up on west coast of India in 2 years