The sperm whale had become stuck on New Zealand’s coast in Timaru on Sunday at early noon. Quickly, several organisations and their teams had been on site to rescue the animal with a boat and a sling attached around the whale to try and pull it back out to sea. However, the tide had become too low and the whale was slowly sinking into the sand, unable to move.
While the tide was low enough, two diggers were called to create a channel and lower the level of the beach between the ocean and the whale. With the break of dawn, emotions had been running high to save the whale before it got too dark to operate. The created channel seems to have been what finally saved the animal. By the time the tide was high enough and the animal was released from the suction of the sand, it “was actually able to swim by itself out of that sling”. Swimming under its own power, the Coastguard shepherded the sperm whale back into deep water.
Due to its size, the animal seems to have been a late juvenile or young adult male. It seemed strong and was not showing any signs of underlying physical problems that might cause mammals to get stranded. This is in line with young adults risk-taking behaviour of coming too close to areas they are not normally seen in. It might have simply not been paying attention to where it was going and consequently got stuck in the shallow water, a volunteer of Project Jonah assumes.
The coasts have been checked on the following days without any further sign of the whale. This rescue was therefore deemed as miraculously successful, being only the third time in New Zealand’s history that a sperm whale had been refloated alive.
The story can be found here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/420073/whale-freed-from-stranding-off-timaru-beaches-checked-in-case-it-returns
Comments