Brave Surfers Spend Six Hours in Efforts to Save a Stranded Baby Whale
A quiet morning surf trip in Costa Rica turned into a race against time when a group of friends heard a strange sound near the water. Instead of chasing waves, they found a stranded baby pilot whale fighting to stay alive at the mouth of a small river in Boca Barranca.
Mauricio Camareno and the others jumped in right away, carrying the weak whale and then staying beside her as the tide slowly changed. For nearly six hours, they kept her afloat, poured water over her, and waited for the ocean to become deep enough for her to swim again.
By the end, the surfers had done far more than save a morning at the beach, and the little whale’s return to open water made the whole ordeal worth it. Read on.
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.
And if you’re wondering about whale bravery, check out how a humpback rescued a marine biologist from a shark attack.
The Surfers Held the Whale Until It Regained Strength to Swim to Open Waters
It Took Six Hours
Watch the Video:
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.
Wait until you see how a 25-ton whale shielded a diver after a shark attack.
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