Trapped blue whale swims free

A whale, trapped in shallow water at Koh Libong in Trang's Kantang district last Friday and struggled for three hours before swimming to freedom, has been identified as a blue whale (balaenoptera musculus). The 10-metre-long creature is estimated to have weighed two tonnes.

Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong from the Phuket Marine Biological Center said it's the first time a blue whale has been spotted in Thai waters. Ordinarily, they inhabit the Antarctic and the animal's presence in the tropics might suggest there was some problem with the food supply around the South Pole, causing the whale to migrate north.

One of the largest animals to have ever existed, blue whales can grow up to 30 metres and weigh as much as 170 tonnes. They survive primarily on a diet of small crustaceans known as krill.