Rescued 18-foot-long whale shark found dead near Tuticorin

With marine animals being endangered, the death of one such species, a female whale shark, is strikingly sad.

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

According to ToI, an autopsy revealed that the shark had suffered an injury behind the head. It could have been caused by a propeller of deep sea fishing boat.

Forest range officer of Tuticorin Range told TOI that they were not aware of the injury when the whale shark was rescued 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.