Mumbai: Fins of dead whale that washed ashore near Mahul stolen

In what can be termed as a serious wildlife offence, few antisocial elements chopped the fins of a dead whale shark that had washed ashore on the east coast of Mumbai near Mahul on Monday. The Mangroves Cell officials visited the spot to check if they can find any CCTV footage in the area to find out who the culprits are.

Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane and Head of NGO RAWW Pawan Sharma confirmed the development and said, "The carcass of a whale shark was reported near the Mahul Creek early on Monday evening. Prathamesh Panchal from our team was assigned to visit the location and help the forest department in recovering the carcass."

The volunteers from NGO reached the spot but they were shocked to see that the fins were missing from the carcass.

Sharma said, "Investigations are on and all necessary actions will be initiated. All native wildlife is the governments' property and an attempt to remove and procure any part is a violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972."

Also Read: Gigantic whale carcass washes ashore in Uran

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