KOTA KINABALU: A juvenile whale shark was found dead on a beach here.
Marine Research Foundation (MRF) principal programme officer Liyana Izwin Khalid said the marine animal was believed to be the same whale shark seen a few days ago in resort areas, including Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort (Star) and Sutera Harbour Resort.
A photo of the beached whale shark on Tanjung Aru beach has gone viral.
"It was last seen at Star by staff there, and they managed to push it back out to sea. Unfortunately, it didn't survive," she said when contacted.
Liyana said the Star personnel had been contacted and updated MRF about the situation.
However, as they did not get to examine the whale shark in person, they were unable to determine its condition before it died.
"It could have been disoriented since it was seen in shallow waters, both in Sutera and Star. We can't tell what was wrong with it," she added.
Meanwhile, Star quality improvement and environmental, social, and governance manager Joyce Murang said the whale shark is about 3m long, meaning it was young.
She added that it was the resort's security guard who spotted the whale shark on Friday afternoon.
"It was found in shallow waters with its head facing the rocky areas. It was quite still but still showing signs of movement such as blowing air out of its blowhole, tail fin moving.
"We turned the whale shark around to face the ocean and it was swimming along the coast before the team guided it to deeper waters where it swam off."
Whale shark sightings off Kota Kinabalu, particularly around Gaya, Sapi and Manukan islands, are largely seasonal and driven by the availability of krill and plankton.
Peak encounters typically occur between February and April, with the highest frequency often recorded in early March. - NST
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