It was Monday afternoon, when the locals of Panadura, a city in the West of Sri Lanka, first noticed the masses of pilot whales being washed ashore on their beach. Despite the animals’ large number and size, the concerned citizens, including the Coast Guard Life Savers and the fishing community started the ambitious effort to push the living animals back into the water. However, the rescue attempt seemed increasingly hopeless as the whales kept washing back ashore in the rough surf while nighttime quickly approached.
It took the support of not only the volunteers, but also the Sri Lanka Army, the Navy, several lifeguard groups and Gammadda V-Force to turn the tables. In a combined team effort, the whales were first physically pushed back over the rough surf, before they were secured to Jet Skis that hauled them over the reef. On the other side, they were then transferred to boats that took the whales further out to release them in the open ocean. Meanwhile, much needed flooding-light was provided by the Sri Lanka 4x4 Club to illuminate the effort on the beach.
Finally, shortly after midnight, most of the over 100 pilot whales had been successfully returned to sea. Only four animals were not able to survive Sri Lanka’s biggest pilot whale stranding. So far, there is no evidence on what might have caused the stranding event. Experts assume, that since they are extremely social animals, the stranding of a single animal might have caused the others to follow. The four dead animals will be analysed for further clues.
Nevertheless, the rescue was highly successful and showed how even under such difficult circumstances, groups of people can come together and collaborate for a greater goal.
The full article with pictures and videos can be found here: https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/11/03/video-largest-whale-stranding-in-sri-lanka-draws-epic-volunteer-rescue-effort/
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