RESCUERS SAVE STRANDED WHALE ON RIO BEACH
Channel: FocusOn News Agency
Date: 2017-08-25

RESCUERS SAVE STRANDED WHALE ON RIO BEACH
By Janet Tappin Coelho in Rio de Janeiro 
@jtappincoelho
Over three hundred people celebrated after a mammoth effort to save the life of a stranded humpback baby whale, that got stuck on a Rio de Janeiro beach, ended successfully with the creature being released into the ocean late afternoon on Thursday
A video shows the whale being refloated in the South Atlantic Ocean with scores of people screaming and shouting for joy.
Many were crying as the marine mammal was finally returned to its rightful home after being beached for nearly 24 hours.
At first rescuers thought the animal wasn’t going to survive after it managed to move with great effort deeper into the sea. Then suddenly it sprang to life and started to swim and to splash its tail.
Dozens of those who fought to save the mammal were in the water as they clapped and cheered at the successful rescue.
As the giant 32-foot sea creature swam away, it seemed to be celebrating and thanking all who had worked tirelessly to save its life.
Some said they even thought it had waved goodbye with a raised fin.
Throughout yesterday morning, three diggers boosted the efforts of the rescue mission as dozens of people used shovels and hoes to remove the sand and throw buckets of water over the animal to keep it hydrated.
The plan was to dig a ditch deep enough around the marine calf in the hope that as the sea flowed in later in the afternoon, the water would refloat the animal.
Ropes were also slung round the whale to try to lift it into the sea and a couple boats attempted to pull the beast out of its sandy trap.
But none of these efforts worked until the baby whale helped itself by edging deeper into the sea as the water flowed around it.
The humpback calf, which weighs around seven tons, was found washed up on Wednesday afternoon on the shores of Rasa Beach in Armaçao dos Buzios, a tourist resort on the south eastern coast of Brazil, around 120 miles outside the Rio capital.  
The stricken animal was first found by a couple residents then teams of helpers joined in the effort to try to dig it out.
The rescue mission was joined on Thursday by excavators, rented by concerned locals, who formed a human chain passing buckets of water to throw over the beached mammal.
Buzios local authority waived beach regulations to allow the diggers onto the sand to help in the rescue mission.
Earlier in the day, biologists at the scene voiced their hope of saving the creature as they said the animal was having trouble breathing but was still alive and trying its best to react by opening its eyes and moving slightly.
But they were concerned not to push or physically move the whale as it ‘could cause harm to the animal’s internal organ.’
A video shot during the rescue mission by photographer Bebeto Karolla shows the race against time to save the grounded beast.
Mr Karolla, who covered the incident for local paper Folha de Buzios said: "When the tide was out, the whale became parched and dry and people (were) taking turns throwing water over it to try to keep it alive."
He complained that environmental authorities had not offered help to save the whale and most of the rescue was being done by hundreds of locals.
This situation later changed with the arrival of the fire brigade and environmental experts.
Rescuers said the creature, which was in shock, had been moaning and wailing in pain and fright as they tried to mount the organised effort.
According to experts, the calf may have got lost from the group it was travelling with when crossing the Rio coast bound for the Antarctica. The migration usually takes place at this time of year.
Biologist Marcelo Rodrigues Tardelli told G1: "The animal does not have any scars or marks indicating it’s had a collision with a vessel.
"Maybe the animal was traveling with its mother and was lost during the strong undertow of the last two weeks.”