Kollam, Dec. 9 -- In a gruelling 4-hour-long rescue, a 13-foot-long whale shark that was accidentally entangled in a shore seine net was successfully freed and released back into the sea on Tuesday. Whale shark is an endangered species in IUCN Red List.
The rescue was a joint effort by fishers, the Forest Department, the Coastal Police, and foreign tourists. This marks the first-ever whale shark rescue recorded in the Kollam district and the 50th such rescue along the Kerala coast since the launch of the Wildlife Trust of India's (WTI) Save the Whale Shark Campaign, in collaboration with the Kerala Forest Department in 2017.
The campaign, supported by Oracle, was initiated to raise awareness and promote the conservation of whale sharks. I...