Anglers spot struggling sea creature and find ‘very rare’ pygmy killer whale in India
Under the cover of night, anglers spotted a struggling sea creature along the southeastern coast of India. Rescuers rushed to help the animal and later identified it as a “very rare” dolphin species, according to wildlife officials.
Fishermen found the sea animal stranded along the coast of Palk Bay on the evening of Oct. 21, Jagdish Bakan, a wildlife warden for Ramanathapuram District, told McClatchy News in an email. The anglers contacted a wildlife team patrolling the area for help.
Rescuers “rushed to the spot and checked the animal,” Bakan said. It was “breathing normal” but appeared to have shark bite marks on its injured fins.
Bakan shared a video of the pygmy killer whale in an Oct. 22 post on X, formerly Twitter. Flashlight beams illuminate the dark gray dolphin and its distinctive white mouth.
Several people stand nearby in the ankle-deep water, video shows. As they gently inspect the dolphin, the wounded animal lifts its head and almost seems to nod before dropping its head back down.
Last night, Ramnad Wildlife RFO Prathap and team had rescued & released a female Porpoise in Palk Bay.
Kudos to the team for rescue in a difficult situation @tnforestdept#porpoise #Dolphins @moefcc @IndiaIucn @IUCNRedList @UNEP@UNEP_AsiaPac pic.twitter.com/T1vyBUgFTz— Jagdish S. Bakan IFS (@jagdishbakanIFS) October 22, 2023
In the darkness, the ocean animal was initially misidentified as a finless porpoise, Bakan said. “Later on, marine mammal experts confirmed the species as (a) pygmy killer whale.”
Pygmy killer whales are actually dolphins, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They have distinctive white lips but are commonly mistaken for several other species.
Pygmy killer whales are not well known, the organization said, and are considered mysterious and “naturally rare.”
“Although it is recorded in India’s coastal water, it is very rare to spot (a) pygmy killer whale in the Palk Bay region,” Bakan said.
The species can reach up to 8.5 feet in length and weigh nearly 500 pounds, according to NOAA. But questions linger about these evasive dolphins, including their lifespans and reproductive biology.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has deemed pygmy killer whales a species of “least concern,” meaning they are not considered to be endangered or threatened.
Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu, is along the southeastern coast of India and about 1,300 miles southeast of New Delhi. The bay is part of Palk Strait, the waterway between India and Sri Lanka.
Rescuers moved the stranded pygmy killer whale to deeper waters, then monitored the area the rest of the night but didn’t see the animal again, Bakan said. Unfortunately, the dolphin was found dead on Oct. 24.
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