Tamil Nadu: Carcass of 7-year-old humpback dolphin washes ashore in Ramanathapuram

Ramanathapuram: The Tamil Nadu forest officials on Sunday evening found a carcass of a young female dolphin washed ashore at Olaikuda beach in Ramanathapuram.

On being informed by the residents, a team of forest department personnel led by Mandapam forest range officer S Sathish inspected the corpse and identified it as humpback dolphin, a common species in the Gulf of Mannar.

The corpse was buried on the shore after a veterinary surgeon conducted a postmortem.

According to reports, the dolphin was around seven-year-old sub-adult. The surgeon said the dolphin had injuries around its mouth, probably sustained after hitting against the rocks. The dolphin could have succumbed to its injuries two or three days ago.

Sathish said the dolphin weighed 85 kg and measured 202 cm in length, 61 cm in width and 122 cm in circumference. The front dorsal fins measured 29 cm in length and 14 cm in width. It had 68 teeth in the upper portion and 64 in the lower.

The species have their habitat in the Gulf of Mannar and are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. Other species in the habitat includes spinners, bottlenose and rough-toothed dolphins. This was the first dolphin to die this year.