India: Blue whale washed ashore in Andhra Pradesh as state battles heavy rains
A blue whale washed on a beach in souther Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Local media reports say that the whale was found at Meghavaram beach in Santhabommali mandal on Thursday (July 27). Andhra Pradesh has a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. Officials from the forest department have reportedly told the media that the whale was a rare type of blue whale. It is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Blue whale is the biggest mammal in the world.
Locals thronged to Meghavaram beach to catch a glimpse of the carcass of the whale. It has been reported that the whale weighed about five tonnes and was more than 25 feet long. According to the forest officials who interacted with the local media, the mammal is suspected to be a baby whale owing to its smaller size when compared to average adult blue whales. A fully grown blue whale can weigh as much as 200 tonnes. This is equivalent to the weight of 33 elephants.
“The cause of death is unknown. A veterinary doctor will perform a postmortem and it will be disposed of,” a forest department official said as quoted by The News Minute.
Last year in the month of May, locals in Santhabommali mandal were amused as a gold-painted chariot washed ashore at Sunnapalli coast. It was concluded by the officials that the chariot apparently washed up from Myanmar or Thailand owing to high tidal waves formed by Cyclone Asani.
The blue whale has now been discovered amid heavy rainfall in the southern state. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data has said that eight places in Andhra Pradesh, including Srikakulam, received 7 cm of rain in just 24 hours. The weather departmen has said that the low pressure area over west-central and northwest Bay of Bengal has persisted. It has been forecast that the low pressure area will turn into a depression.
Such a weather system is likely to cause moderate rain in several places in coastal Andhra and Rayalseema.
Government authorities have advised fishermen not to venture in the sea as the adverse weather means winds reaching speed of 45-55 km per hour would be observed. The wind speed may also increase to 65 kmph.
