Mumbai: A 42-foot-long blue whale washed ashore at the Revdanda beach in Alibaugh, Mumbai, died despite efforts by local residents to put the mammal back into the sea.
The creature, weighing about 20 tonnes, was first spotted on the shore on Wednesday afternoon. However, the big whale died on Thursday after being stranded on the beach for more than 16 hours. Attempts by villagers, local police, naval officers and marine activists to save the creature went in vain.
The dead whale was buried on the beach at Revdanda.
As of now, the cause of the death is not know, however, activists who inspected the creature claimed it had several innury marks on its head and tail, indicating that it may have been hit either by a ship or a barge.
“Blue whales usually do not come so close to the shore and some injury or disease may have left it disoriented, causing it to stray into shallow waters,” N Vasudevan, chief conservator, state mangrove cell, was quoted as saying.
The blue whales are the largest species to have ever lived on Earth and can grow up to 100 feet in length.
Earlier this year, marine biologists from the Cetacean Population Study team claimed to have spotted live blue whales near the Sindhudurg coastline.
