Four days after a carcass of an adult female whale shark was found washed ashore near Pamban rail bridge, a five-year-old live whale shark was found washed ashore at the coastal Vedhalai near here on Saturday evening.
The female shark, measuring about 10 ft and weighing about 150 kg, was struggling to return to the sea after reaching the shore, when local people spotted it and alerted the Mandapam forest range officials.
Accompanied by anti-poaching watchers, Forest Range Officer S. Sathish reached the spot in about 45 minutes and launched the rescue operation. The whale shark, which kept moving in shallow water, was transported in a motorised country boat and let into the deep sea in Gulf of Mannar, he said.
The animal had no external injuries and it was not immediately known whether it suffered some internal injuries, Mr. Sathish said. As an examination by a veterinary surgeon would be time-consuming and the animal required to be rescued immediately, it was taken to the deep sea without any further delay, he said.
This was the first time a live whale shark was found washed ashore in the region, he said.
Carcasses of two whale sharks were found washed ashore in Kunthukal area in September 2016 and on May 7. Both inhabited in the Gulf of Mannar, Mr Sathish said.
