After an initial assessment, the wildlife officials determined that the whale appeared to be in “good condition”.
The dwarf minke whale washed up on Hervey Bay Beach, Australia.
A group of beachgoers recently rescued a stranded dwarf minke whale that washed up on a beach in Australia. According to Newsweek, the Queensland parks and wildlife service arrived at Hervey Bay Beach on May 20 to find the minke whale washed up and unable to move. After an initial assessment, the wildlife officials determined that the whale appeared to be in “good condition,” following which the beachgoers, along with the officials, guided the mammal back into the deep waters.
A video, taken by snake catcher Drew Godfrey, shows rescuers pouring water on the animal in order to keep it wet. The rescuers can also be seen guiding the whale out to sea with the rising tide.
Watch the video below:
In the clip, one can see that once the whale is successfully guided to deep water, it suddenly begins thrashing its tail, attempting to swim into deeper water. Spectators can be heard cheering as the whale becomes more lively.
The marine mammal appears to disappear into the depths, however, a few moments later the whale gets stuck in the shallows once again. “Oh no, it’s coming back in,” a person is heard saying in the video. But once the whale becomes stranded in the shallows and stops thrashing about in the water, the rescuers attempt to guide it back into the depths again.
The rescuers pull the whale out and it once again begins flapping its tail to begin swimming. Beachgoers again can be heard cheering in the clip as it becomes clear that the whale is finally on its way back out to the open ocean.
Speaking to Newsweek, Drew Godfrey said that the moment was “very moving”. “It was a heartwarming moment of community spirit and animal rescue. It was wonderful to see,” Mr Godfrey added.
Meanwhile, it is to mention that dwarf minke whales can be found in temperate and warmer waters in the southern hemisphere.