A carcass of an adult female whale shark was found washe d ashore near Kunthukal seashore in the island.
Anti-poaching watchers were on regular patrolling when they found the carcass on the coastal Kunthukal – Mohamadhiyapuram stretch on Saturday night, S. Sathish, forest range officer, Mandapam range, said.
“Aged about 25 years, the whale weighed 350 kg and it should have died on Friday as the carcass was fresh”, he said.
It had injuries on the head and could have dashed against some fishing vessel, he added.
The endangered animal is listed in schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. After post mortem by a veterinary surgeon, the carcass was buried at the shore on Sunday, Mr. Sathish said.
The filter feeding shark measured 282 cm in length and width of the mouth was about 90 cm, he added.
Whale sharks inhabit tropical seas and this was the second whale shark to be washed ashore in the Kunthukal area in two years, sources said.
