NAGAPATTINAM: The body of a 36-foot long sperm whale surfaced near Pazhaiyar in the wee hours of Tuesday. The endangered marine animal is suspected to have been killed by the propeller of a vessel.
The decomposed mammal weighed around five tons. "We suspect that it could have been injured in a hit by a propeller of a ship or mechanised boat," said V Kumaresan, the Forest Range Officer of Sirkazhi Range.
Sperm whales are a declared endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are the largest of all toothed whales, making them the largest toothed predator in the world.
The local fishers found the carcass at the sandy shores near the casuarina plantations, a few hundred metres away from Pazhaiyar Fishing Harbor early on Tuesday. Forest department officials arrived at the spot and began their investigation around 6.30 am. Sperm whales are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Fishers from Pazhaiyar told The New Indian Express they had never seen the shoring of a whale of such massive size in recent years. The animal had injuries on its body suggesting a 'propeller hit.'
A local wildlife veterinarian was called to perform the autopsy. The forest department team and a team from the MSSRF's Fish For All Research and Training Centre in Poompuhar collected the samples. The whale was buried at the shore near the reserved forest land near Pazhaiyar. The workers dug a huge pit 12 metres long, five metres wide and three metres deep using an excavator and gave the mammal a proper burial.
Dr Supraja Dharini, the Coordinator of 'Tree Foundation' who has studied endangered species for 20 years, said, "Sperm whales are vulnerable to such propeller hits. The sperm whale could have died naturally as well. Fishermen can identify the presence of whales near their vessels by noticing the 'whale spouts' which come out of their dorsal sides and avoid running into them."