Ramanathapuram: The carcass of a female blue whale washed ashore on Valinokkam Beach in Ramanathapuram. Residents spotted the carcass alerted patrolling forest officials.
The mammoth fish, which was dead, weighed around seven tonnes as per reports. Sources said it was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
Forest Range Officer Sikkanthar Basha said that they were unable to calculate the age of the whale. “It’s a blue whale. We’ve just finished the postmortem. We suspect the whale must have been hit by a large vessel,” he added.
The carcass of a female dugong washed ashore at Pudumadam only on 23 August, and the carcass of a dolphin washed ashore near Dhanushkodi on 24 August. Frequent deaths of rare species have sent shock waves among environmental activists.