Brave Surfers Spend Six Hours in Efforts to Save a Stranded Baby Whale
Saving a life is the most wonderful thing in the world, and this band of friends did just that.
They saved the life of a poor stranded baby pilot whale. It was very early in the morning when a group of surfers arrived at the mouth of a small river in Boca Barranca, Costa Rica.
Mauricio Camareno and his friends were hurrying to catch the waves when a strange noise drew their attention. It sounded like the source wasn’t too far away, so they went to investigate.
When they got closer, they realized it was a baby pilot whale in desperate need of help. They quickly sprang into action.
“She was very weak and unable to keep afloat,” Camareno told the reporters. The surfers forgot about their surfing, and they all jumped in to save the poor animal.
At first, they carried the baby whale across to help it reach open waters, but soon realized it was too tired and couldn’t swim independently. Camareno and his friends stayed with the whale until the tide came back around again.
It took almost six hours for the animal to regain strength and for the water to reach a sufficient depth to swim back to the ocean. During this time, the surfer heroes kept the tired animal afloat so she could breathe, and they poured water over her to protect her from the heat and the sun.
A Group of Surfers Found a Stranded Pilot Whale
Luckily, the surfers’ great efforts paid off in the end, and the whale found her way back into the ocean to reunite with her family. They saved her life.
Pilot Whales Are Members of the Dolphin Family
Unfortunately, pilot whale strandings are not uncommon. The largest stranding in Australia involved more than 470 pilot whales.
Still, this tragedy is overshadowed by a 1,000-strong group of these animals that stranded in 1918 on the shores of Chatham Islands, near New Zealand.
There are many more instances of groups of several hundred pilot whales stranding. Scientists can't agree on what causes these tragedies.
Pilot whales are remarkable swimmers and divers. They can swim at depths well over a kilometer.
Some scientists believe that the biosonar they use to navigate these depths may cause them problems when navigating shallow waters.
Most of the beaches where these tragedies occurred are shallow sand beaches, and sand absorbs biosonar sounds.
As a result, pilot whales believe they have open waters in front of them instead of a beach.
The Surfers Held the Whale Until It Regained Strength to Swim to Open Waters
It Took Six Hours
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Despite their name, pilot whales are actually members of the dolphin family. There are two species, distinguished primarily by the length of their flippers, number of teeth, and shape of the skull.
Like other dolphins, they are highly social. They live in stable family groups comprising 20 to 100 animals, although much larger groups have been recorded.
Unfortunately, their large but tight social groups are the reason why so many whales get stranded at once. They stick together even when heading toward their doom.
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