Tourist to be punished for taking whale away

GUANGZHOU -- A tourist who took a dead baby whale away from a local beach in South China's Guangdong province will face punishment, authorities said Tuesday.

According to the local fishery administration, they have found the tourist who was caught taking away the dead whale after it was stranded on a beach in Hailing Island, a tourist destination in Guangdong.

Video footage of the man carrying the animal on his shoulder on the beach appeared on microblogging site Sina Weibo last week, fueling a public outcry. The animal, about 120 cm long and 15 kg in weight, had scars on its body, according to local law enforcement officers.

Investigations show that the dolphin-like animal was a baby false killer whale, a Class-II protected species in China.

In Chinese law, anyone who discovers the body of a wild animal must report the matter to authorities rather than taking it in.