Several villagers gathered at the beach to look at the blue whale.
In a tragic incident, a blue whale washed ashore at a beach in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam on Thursday. According to local outlets, the whale is about 25 feet long and weighs five tons. Photos and videos from the scene, posted online, show people from nearby villages gathered at the beach to look at the deep-sea creature. The blue whale washed up on Meghavaram beach of Santabommali mandal in Srikakulam.
Local fishermen say it's rare for a blue whale to be stranded on a beach in Andhra Pradesh.
This comes at a time when the southern state is witnessing heavy rainfall for the past few days. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), eight places in Andhra Pradesh, including Srikakulam, received 7cm rain in the past 24 hours. The weather department also said that the low pressure area over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts continues to persist, and is yet to aggravate into a depression.
Under the influence of this weather system, moderate rain is likely to occur in several places across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema region.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea as squally weather with wind speeds reaching up to 45-55 km per hour and also gusting up to 65 kmph are likely over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal.
The blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, weighing as much as 200 tons (the weight of approximately 33 elephants). It has a heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. According to World Wildlife Federation (WWF), the creature's stomach can hold one ton of krill and it needs to eat about four tons of krill each day.
The blue whales are considered as the loudest animals on Earth - even louder than a jet engine. Their calls reach 188 decibels, while a jet reaches 140 decibels, as per WWF. Their low frequency whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles and is probably used to attract other blue whales.