In a tragic incident, a 42-ft-long rare whale shark was found dead on an Odisha beach on Sunday. The whale, 28-ft-wide, was found at the Baidhara Pentha beach in Puri district of Odisha, an official said on Sunday.
Forest officials collected the dead marine species from the local people.
"It's a rare whale shark mostly seen in the Pacific Ocean. The cause of death can be ascertained after the post-mortem examination," said Satapada Forest Ranger Achyutananda Das. The whale died 10-15 days back and the carcass washed away to the shore, he added.
Veterinary college doctors will be conducting an autopsy to find out the reason of death.
Dead whales have been found on Indian beaches regularity.
A 30-ft-long whale was found dead on a Juhu beach in Maharashtra's capital Mumbai in January 2016. A few weeks before, 45 short-finned pilot whales were found stranded along a 15-km beach stretch in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
In February 2016, a 40-ft-long blue whale was found stranded in shallow waters of Dapoli beach in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. It was rescued and sent back into deeper seas.
In June 2015, a 42-ft-long blue whale had washed ashore at the Revdanda coast, which is 17 km south of Alibaug in Maharashtra. The whale was alive when found ashore and the locals tried to push into the water, but it died before they were successful.
