02:47 GMT, 11 May 2012
These heartbreaking images show the body of a majestic blue whale fatally injured as it slept in a busy shipping lane. It was spotted floating
near the surface of the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of Sri Lanka. A gaping wound shows the horrific point of impact with the bow of the
ship - leaving the gentle giant's tail fin in tatters.
Marine experts believe the blue whale – an endangered species with as few as 5,000 left in the wild - had been struck by a container vessel.
The moving pictures were captured by diver Tony Wu, who wanted to highlight the blue whale’s desperate plight in a bid to reduce devastating
ship strikes.
Unofficial figures show thousands of whales – many critically endangered species – have been killed by container ships. And experts believe many
more cases go unrecorded simply because ships don’t even notice they have hit anything.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=Untitled-1-6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/Untitled-1-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
These heartbreaking images show the body of a majestic blue whale fatally injured as it slept in a busy shipping lane. It was spotted floating
near the surface of the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of Sri Lanka. A gaping wound shows the horrific point of impact with the bow of the
ship - leaving the gentle giant's tail fin in tatters.
Marine experts believe the blue whale – an endangered species with as few as 5,000 left in the wild - had been struck by a container vessel.
The moving pictures were captured by diver Tony Wu, who wanted to highlight the blue whale’s desperate plight in a bid to reduce devastating
ship strikes.
Unofficial figures show thousands of whales – many critically endangered species – have been killed by container ships. And experts believe many
more cases go unrecorded simply because ships don’t even notice they have hit anything.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=Untitled-1-6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/Untitled-1-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
