Carcass of a 66-foot-long whale shark lies at the beach off Chinchiri Island in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary.

The dead mammal, which was washed ashore on the beach on Friday, bears injury marks on its body. Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest divisional officer Bimal Prasanna Acharya said it appeared to be a small fin whale, which figures in the list of the International Union of Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

As the mammal's carcass is lying at a remote location, its relocation has become a difficult task. One has to cross a creek during low tide to reach the site. The veterinary experts have been asked to conduct an on-the-spot autopsy to ascertain the cause of its death.

"The mammal is a Schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. We are still undecided whether to bury the carcass after its post-mortem," said Acharya.

"Relocating the body is a cumbersome exercise. As there are injury marks on it, the mammals might have perished after being hit by either ship or trawler propellers," said a veterinary expert.

"After the legal formalities are over, we will seek suggestions from department higher-ups regarding preservation of the skeletal remains of the whale," said an official.

On Wednesday, a 33-feet-long dead sperm whale was spotted near Bateswar Temple adjacent to Kantiagada village in Ganjam district.

Text by Manoj Kar, Telegraph picture