9-meter whale shark beaches on Parangkusumo Beach, dies
The animal was still alive when found at 05.00 WIB, but efforts to return it to sea failed before it died.
A whale shark beached on the shore of Parangkusumo Beach, Bantul, D.I. Yogyakarta, on Sunday morning and later died before it could be evacuated back to sea. The Rhincodon typus was found by residents around 05.00 WIB still alive. The report from residents was passed to officers at the Pos SAR Ditpolairud Polda DIY, and a joint team with SAR Linmas Wilayah III then went to the site for initial handling. They also coordinated with BKSDA DIY. Efforts to push the whale shark back into deeper water failed because of its very large body size and the falling tide. CNN Indonesia reported its length at around 6 meter, while an Antara photo caption put it at 9 meter. During the evacuation effort, residents were asked to keep their distance and not handle the animal themselves.