The giant head of the whale laid in a pool of blood. (Image: ANI)

Kolkata: A huge whale of size 35-foot has washed up on June 29 on the beach in Mandarmani beach, a popular tourist destination in West Bengal, as per a report in NDTV. The giant head of the whale laid in a pool of blood as the people gathered at the beach to see this sight that was never before seen, NDTV report said further.

East Midnapore district officials along with forest and wildlife authorities and fisheries agencies had rushed down to the place to assess the cause behind the incident. Officials are yet to find out the reason behind the presence of blood and signs of damage on the dead whale’s neck. Whales, as per Indian laws, are treated as endangered species under the schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in India. The local citizens have said the incident is the first such case in the city that is very attractive for tourists from across the neighboring cities and states.

An HT report quoted Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division DFO, Bikash Ranjan Dash as saying that since the body of the mammal bore injury marks, there is a possibility that it might have died after being struck by either a ship or trawler propellers.

Senior Congress leader and a former union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has also expressed concern on the news of the big whale washed away at the Mandarmani beach.

A similar incident took place last month when a 40-foot-long whale carcass washed ashore at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Kendrapara district of Odisha.

The whale evades polar and tropical waters and is found mostly in the North Pacific. The study added that experts are unsure how this particular whale species ended up in the area.

Mandarmani, a popular tourist destination in West Bengal, is close to yet another tourist attraction – Digha. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, both tourist spots have been shut.