The Rescue
On the 29th of August, a baby whale shark was found washed ashore on the Pati Sonepur coast of the Ganjam District in Odisha. Despite being almost 9 feet in length, unperturbed locals rallied around the beached animal, managing to push it back into the sea. According to Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashis Behera, the rescued shark was probably still in its infancy, owing to the fact that adult whale sharks can easily surpass 40 feet in length. After an hour long group effort, the locals were able to push the whale shark back into the sea, where it immediately sought the sanctuary of deeper waters. Berhampur DFO has since commended the locals for their brave efforts.
Not An Isolated Incident
This is not the first incident of this nature to occur in this area however. A 19 feet long carcass of a less fortunate whale shark was found in February 2009, in the same area near Golapur. The following year, in June 2010, the remnants of a 30 feet long whale shark was also discovered. According to zoologist and cetacean expert Muntaz Khan, carcasses of whale sharks have been found near Gopalpur, Rushikulya river mouth, Chilika lake coast, Devi river mouth, Bhitarkanika and Balasore off Odisha coast in the past.
Fortunately for this whale shark, photographs prior to the release indicated it had not sustained any injuries.
Footnote:
Contact Seal Superyachts India for detailed information about cruising around India, superyacht charter regulations and about how we can support your visit.
Principle agent Jojy Cherian is proud to have worked with many of the World’s largest Superyachts and has extensive knowledge of India and the surrounding area.
Jojy Cherian
Phone: +91 98 4100 9696
Email: india@seal-superyachts.com