Five Pilot Whales Were Rescued After Beaching Themselves, They Are Now Showing Signs Of Recovery

Jul 31, 2019 by apost team

After five pilot whales were seen stranded on Redington Beach in Florida this past Monday, several dozen beachgoers united to help the creatures before more help arrived.

Three of the whales were determined healthy enough to be taken back out to sea while the other two were transported to an Aquarium to be medically tested. Now veterinarians have released an update on the whales’ condition.

It was an epic day for beachgoers at the Florida coast earlier this week. With five pilot whales all in need of help, it seemed everyone was able to chip in and help the sea creatures survive until official help arrived. Thomas Nuhfer, a volunteer who helped carry one of the big mammals to be transported, told the Tampa Bay Times,

“It was really hard work, but it was so great to see people who didn’t even know each other come together and work together to help.”

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The news station also gave an update from the Aquarium that is taking care of the two pilot whales. Aquarium officials say they have not found any health issues with the whales and believe they will be ready to be released soon.

Carlee Wendell, a Clearwater Marine Aquarium spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times that a “mass stranding” (when an entire pod beaches themselves) is extremely rare. This kind of occurrence has only happened about a dozen times in the last 30 years. 

Mike Walsh, a University of Florida professor of marine biology, said whale pods are led by one animal that makes decisions about where to migrate.

“They strand because they are following their leader...So they’ll hear each other vocalizing and they will stick with their buddies even in spite of the fact that it's going to result in the death of the whole pod,” Walsh said to reporters at the scene.

Fortunately, with the help of the public and local animal rescue the whales were able to be saved. We hope soon that the two whales in treatment are able to be released back into the wild to continue their migration. 

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