18-Meter Finback Whale Dies on UK Beach After Struggling
Its body was covered in wounds.
According to the British Daily Mail on February 14, at noon, a 60-foot (18.2 meters) long finback whale stranded on the beach near the Cornish coast in southwestern England. Despite the attempts of rescuers to save the giant marine animal, it remained on the rocks on the beach at 3:45 PM on the same day.
Local ‘Clean Oceans Sailing’ organization member Steve Green told reporters, ‘On the 14th morning, we saw the finback whale swimming in the ocean on the boat. However, at noon that day, it unfortunately stranded.’ People passing by on the beach discovered the giant creature and attempted to push it back into the sea at high tide.
But Steve said that it was impossible to push such a huge marine animal into the sea with just human power. He said, ‘It was trapped on the rocks, very painful, and watching it slowly die was heartbreaking.’
Someone on the scene took photos of the stranded finback whale struggling on the rocks, with countless broken stones leaving wounds on its body.
Shortly afterwards, rescue teams from the British underwater marine animal rescue organization (BDMLR) arrived at the scene and immediately dispersed the crowd. After arriving at the scene, the rescuers believed that the finback whale would not survive after stranding. They kept pouring seawater on the whale, which could extend its lifespan, but could not save its life.
Rescue personnel poured seawater on it.
At 3:45 PM on the same day, the finback whale left this world forever. Experts will conduct an autopsy between the 15th and 16th to find the reason for its stranding.
Finback whales are the second largest whales in the world, usually living in the California Bay, the Coral Triangle and the Arctic. British underwater marine animal rescue organization expert Julia Cable told the Daily Mail, ‘Finback whales are very rare in this area, this event is very strange.’
‘It may be because it was sick, which made it leave its original sea area, or it may have been driven out of its habitat.’
