FOLLOWING up on the stranding of a Whale Shark on Safety Beach in December, News Of The Area asked Duane March of Ocean Warriors Australia what happened next.

“A 5.5 meter sub-adult male Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) was stranded on Safety Beach, just north of Darkum Creek at approximately 6:30am on the morning of 16 December.

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“It was estimated to weigh three tonnes.

“Members of the public worked together to refloat the animal and get it into deeper water, but the animal did not swim away strongly,” Duane said.

Ocean Warriors Australia arrived at the scene as the animal was being refloated out past the breaking waves.

A brief search of the area by snorkel failed to find the animal, and it was hoped that it had moved by itself into deeper waters.

“Unfortunately, around 9:00am the animal restranded.”

Members of the public again tried valiantly to get the animal off the beach, but the tide was falling, and the animal was weak.

As the tide receded, the difficult decision was made to euthanize the animal.

“A large injection of a sedative was given into the muscle and after around 15- 20 minutes, the animal visibly relaxed and passed away shortly afterwards.

“A blood sample collected from the animal showed no signs of infectious or chronic disease.

“The only abnormalities were consistent with the intense effort that would have accompanied the stranding event.”

Consultation between the Department of Primary Industries and local Garby Elders resulted in a burial ground being identified for the animal.

The stranding attracted significant domestic and international interest, and there was a long list of scientific samples requested.

Unfortunately, a number of days passed without the carcass being removed and eventually it is assumed that the carcass was washed out to sea on a high tide.

Whale Sharks are famously known to inhabit the Western Coast of Australia; however, it is not unusual to see sub-adult animals swimming in the Solitary Island Marine Park.

“It was sad to see the animal on the beach.

They are such big, beautiful animals.

“It was a real shame that we did not get to do a post-mortem on the animal.

“Whilst it is sad that the animal had to be euthanized, the real shame is that we missed an opportunity to work out why it was stranded in the first place,” said Duane.

By Andrea FERRARI