Photos, video: Whale shark the size of a bus found in Karachi, Pakistan

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Whale shark the size of a bus found

3News NZ

Residents gather as the whale shark is pulled from the water by cranes after it was found dead at Karachi's fish harbour (Reuters)

Residents gather as the whale shark is pulled from the water by cranes after it was found dead at Karachi's fish harbour (Reuters)

Onlookers today marvelled at a bus-sized shark pulled ashore in Karachi, Pakistan.

Cranes were used to lift the 12m long whale shark onto dry land before it was sold for 1.7 million rupees (nearly NZ$23,000).

Mehmood Khan, the owner of a local fishery, said the shark was unconscious when it was found about 10 days ago in the Arabian Sea. However, other reports say it was found dead on Tuesday this week (Wednesday NZT). 

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea and generally considered gentle towards humans, as they primarily consume plankton.

The sharks can typically be found in all tropical seas, according to National Geographic. They are known to migrate every spring to the continental shelf of the central west coast of Australia.

The whale shark was added to the World Conservation Union's list of threatened species in 2008.

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8/02/2012 4:00:41 p.m.

ThePlan wrote:

"What? We found a wounded animal and we ate it!" :) (Originally this joke was used in reference to Mitt Romney - for the way he bought large companies, liquidated the assets fired the employees, and sold small companies).

8/02/2012 3:53:14 p.m.

Liv wrote:

If the whale shark was added to the World Conservation Union's list of threatened species in 2008. how come it was sold for 1.7 million rupees and to whom? Why was it not donated to science or something along to lines of that. I struggle to see how this animal could "belong" to someone. Also the different accounts of what actually happened to it seem a bit suss....