A whale shark was found washed ashore near Thoothukudi old port on Wednesday evening. Sources in Thoothukudi Wildlife Range, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, said while patrolling along the shore, the forest personnel found the carcass of the female whale shark. It weighed around 1.5 tonnes.

The injuries on its body and near the tail indicated that it was hit by the propeller of a boat engine. Veterinary surgeons carried out a post-mortem on the carcass, which was highly decomposed, after which it was buried on the shore.