A research team found blue whales near Sindhudurg coast, which is the world's largest mammal

Marine biologists from the Cetacean Population Study team, saw a "big" and "round" shape in the sea, while on a boat in Sindhudurg on the Konkan coast. They were in the area in search of dolphins for an official research spearheaded by the Indian government and UNDP. However, to their shock, they found two whales just 600 metres off the coast.

According to this Indian Express report, the research team definitely believe this is a reason to celebrate as the last sighting of blue whales in India was in 1914.

“Our boatmen suddenly saw a big shape emerge,” said Ketki Jog, a member of the Konkan Cetacean Research Team, adding, “No sooner had we seen the whale than we spotted the calf and followed them for a while. We took lots of photos and left them alone as the presence of the mother meant ‘don’t disturb’.”

The mammal is said to be abundantly found across the Indian Ocean, near the southern part of the Sri Lankan coast, but are known to migrate towards the Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea.

The real question to ask is why are these whales coming so close to the land? Traditionally, whales are known to be open-ocean species.

For now, the mere sighting is enough. N Vasudevan, chief conservator of the forest, mangrove cell has said in this Hindustan Times report that whale watching activities are going to be initiated in the area. "Without disturbing the habitat of the whales, these spots can become a tourist attraction if such mammals are spotted often,” he added.

Editor's Note: Earlier an image of a dolphin was erroneously used instead of a blue whale. The inadvertent error is regretted.