The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is investigating the cause of death of a butanding (whale shark) that washed ashore in the Port of San Vicente in Sta. Ana, Cagayan last Sunday. BFAR regional director Jovita Ayson confirmed to The STAR that the dead creature was a whale shark. She said the 22-foot long shark that belongs to the Rhincodontidae family was too weak to return to the open sea but residents tried to push the heavy animal to deeper waters.

Catindig, R. (2014, January 14). BFAR probes whale shark's death in Cagayan. The Philippine Star, p. 5.