A 25-foot long whale was battling for life after it got beached in the shallow waters of Nagapattinam.
The two-year-old whale was noticed struggling by local fishermen on Saturday morning and efforts to push the mammal back into the sea were continuing till evening.
According to local wildlife sources, a few local fishermen noticed the whale early on Saturday morning with half of its body out of water.
The massive mammal, estimated to be between 4 and 5 tonnes, was found near Mannavaram islet, about 15 km off the Kodiakarai coast.
“Efforts are on by the district wildlife department to rescue the whale and release it in deep waters”, said local Forest Ranger C Raveendran.
A special team led by Nagapattinam district Wildlife Warden Mr Soundirapandian were involved and more than 30 people, including local fishermen, pushed the mammal about 500 metres into the sea, but due to the clayey sea bed and low tide, the rescue operation was affected and the whale could not be moved further, the ranger said adding that the whale was healthy and free from injuries.
“Initially about 15 local fishermen tried to rescue the whale, but when they failed, two more teams rushed to the spot and did their best,” Nagapattinam District Wildlife Warden Mr Soundirapandian told reporters.
“We hope the whale will swim back to the wild and expect high tides tonight. A team of wildlife biologist from AVC College Myladuthurai is also arriving soon,” he said.
“The cause for the whale getting stranded can be ascertained after a thorough study and a trawler can be used to rescue the mammal,” opined marine conservationist Supraja Dharini, chairperson, Tree Foundation.