A giant whale, which was stranded near the shore of Hare Island here on Wednesday evening and pushed back into the sea, returned to the shallow waters off Thoothukudi old harbour on Thursday.
Initially, the whale believed to be of ‘baleen’ species, was spotted near Hare Island around 8 a.m. on Thursday, C. Nellai Nayagam, Forest Range Officer, Thoothukudi (in-charge), said.
It was pushed back into the sea by volunteers, local fishermen and Forest Department staff.
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However, the whale swam back and moved close to the shore of Thoothukudi old harbour coast around 11 a.m., he said.
To rescue the whale stranded in the shallow waters, Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group (CSG) personnel with a fast interceptor boat and a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) boat stepped in and managed to tow the whale, weighing about two and a half tonnes and measuring 15 metres long.
Later, with the help of mechanised fishing boats, the whale was towed away to deep sea and left at six nautical miles off the old harbour.
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With wounds
The whale’s body bore wounds as it could have hit rocks at the sea bottom, T. Vijayaraghavan, Inspector of Fisheries, said.
After sailing for four nautical miles at sea, the whale became more active and showed signs of improvement. Towing was halted at every 10 minutes in the sea, Mr. Nayagam said.
J.K. Patterson Edward, Director, Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Thoothukudi, said the stranded whale could have been sick or it might be a case of navigation loss.
Normally, the sick whale stranded ashore would not be able to get back to sea, he said.