TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - The Yogyakarta Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) reported the facts behind the death of a great whale shark that was found stranded on Tuesday afternoon, July 26, at the estuary of Bogowonto River, Congot Beach, Temon, Kulon Progo.

“Based on the temporary autopsy, when the shark's body was cut open and its organs were checked, the liver was damaged, while the other organs were still intact,” said Yogyakarta BKSDA Forest Police personnel, Gunadi, on Wednesday, July 27.

The 8.7-meter-long predator was initially thought to have died due to illegal poaching, which was marked by a gunshot wound under the right gill, which was at the size of an adult finger.

“But it turned out that the gunshot wound could only injure the surface of his body or only 2-cm deep from the 50-cm thick flesh,” explained Gunadi, adding that the gunshot wound that was with an anchor-like device did not penetrate the internal organs, including the shark's liver.

He predicted that the shark had already died in the ocean before being swept away by the current and finally stranded on Kulon Progo Beach.

“The shark's original habitat is in the deep ocean, approximately at a depth of 100 meters. It has never been seen on the surface of this southern coast,” Gunadi said. However, he could not conclude when the exact time of the death of the stranded whale shark.

PRIBADI WICAKSONO

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