The huge body of a sperm whale that was found stranded in shallow waters off the coast of Nantong in east China’s Jiangsu Province on Monday is hoisted on to a truck yesterday. [Xinhua]

The huge body of a sperm whale that was found stranded in shallow waters off the coast of Nantong in east China’s Jiangsu Province on Monday is hoisted on to a truck yesterday.

The 16-meter-long animal, which weighed about 50 tons, was one of two sperm whales recently spotted in the area, though the body of the second has yet to be retrieved. Local scientists said that it was rare for sperm whales to be seen in the waters around Nantong and will investigate how the giants of the sea came to be there.?