India, May 29 -- A 28-foot whale shark tagged with a tracker in December completed a 4,000-kilometre journey across the Arabian Sea over 100 days and circled back to the starting point off the Gujarat coast, people familiar with the matter said.

The whale shark, rescued from a fishing net, was satellite-tagged and released by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in a collaborative operation with the Gujarat Forest Department.

It moved along India's western coastline, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala before reaching the Lakshadweep Islands, where it spent a week. The whale shark next ventured 700 kilometres from the Maharashtra coast to reach the Gulf of Oman, approached near Karachi, and ultimately returned to Veraval on April 4.

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