Young ‘butanding’ dies in Cavite

CONTRIBUTED FILE PHOTO

SAN PEDRO, Laguna—A young whale shark, which experts believe came from the West Philippine Sea and swam its way to Manila Bay, was found dead close to the shore of Tanza, Cavite.

Menandro Dimaranan, the municipal environment officer of Tanza, said local fishermen first sighted the gentle species of shark, feeding on small shrimps about eight kilometers off the coast of Barangay (village) Amaya 5 on Tuesday.

By Wednesday afternoon, the fishermen reported to local authorities that they had found the giant fish, which belongs to a gentle species of shark and is considered the largest fish in the ocean,  dead and brought it to shore. The butanding measured 6.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide.

Dimaranan said there were no visible wounds on the butanding, making them believe that “it must have ingested something else that caused its death.”

“There were a few sightings here in the past but it was the first time that a butanding actually died here,” Dimaranan said on the phone from the coastal village Amaya on Thursday.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was to perform a necropsy on the whale shark before burying it in Barangay (village) Sahod-ulan later Thursday, according to Dimaranan.

The result of the necropsy is expected to be released on Monday, he said.