9 melon-headed whales rescued after becoming stranded on shoal

Nine melon-headed whales were rescued on Tuesday afternoon after becoming stranded in the shallow water of a shoal in Linhai city in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, on Tuesday morning.

Three other such whales, a State Level II protected species, died before they could be rescued.

Among the nine that survived, two were transported to Baishawan Park in Linhai, two are being kept temporarily at Taizhou Ocean World, and five were transported to the Hongye fish farm in Taizhou.

The 12 whales were found by fishermen at around 7:30 am Tuesday near Toumen port in Linhai.

"We found these 'big fish' when we were picking sea snails on the shoal, and they were lying scattered peacefully. I've never seen such a scene before," fisherman Lin Licong said.

Local authorities mobilized more than 100 rescuers and fishermen, who dug deep holes and installed sunshades for the whales, several of which were ill.

"It took 10 of us to push each whale to the lower part of the shoal, digging holes in the sand with our hands," said Lin Shanlan, a fisherman who took part in the rescue work. "It was a tough job."

Meanwhile, fishermen and rescuers took the initiative to open umbrellas and cover the bodies of the whales with wet towels, dousing them with buckets of seawater.

"We kept watering them to prevent evaporation, otherwise they would be put in danger," Lin Shanlan said.

By 9 am, all 12 whales had been moved to holes filled with seawater. Three were dead when rescuers arrived.

Marine experts said the whales may have become stranded when chasing fish in the area.

However, Zhu Yupeng, a staff member from Linhai's fisheries administration, said they might have become stranded due to the failure of their navigation systems, adding it was the first stranding of such a big group of whales in the area in recent years.

Photos by Linhai Fabu (news release)