Volunteers managed to refloat a stranded whale shark in Eastern Indonesia in an enormous 10-hour hands-on rescue mission.
The young, 3-metre long animal had been found squirming in the murky waters of Kendari Bay. With the water only 1 metre deep at low tide, the animal was not able to swim by itself and likely got disoriented in the mangrove trees. Several residents quickly jumped into the water to help. With only makeshift equipment and their hands, they were able to push the large animal 5 kilometres to the deepest part of the bay. From here, the whale shark could take off with higher tides and get back to deeper, safer water.
Though Indonesia’s water is rich with sea mammals, the stranding location was unusual for a whale shark. As the biggest fish species, they are filter feeders and need open space to gulp down water filled with plankton and small fish. The bay, however, has become increasingly shallow over the past years at only half its initial depth now.
The development and urban growth in the Southeast Sulawesi province have “left more land open to the elements, allowing dirt to run into waterways.” Besides the silting, heavy metal contamination has been indicated in the area. Some studies suggest that “much of the biodiversity is beyond rescue.”. In accordance, the amount of fish caught in the bay has decreased dramatically to a point where fisher families cannot support themselves anymore.
The full article can be found here: Whale shark stranding points to silting of Indonesia’s Kendari Bay (mongabay.com)
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