Injured whale left to die off China’s south coast after failed rescue attempts
Marine mammal freed from fishing net but assessed as too injured to return to sea
An injured whale has been left to die on a southern China coast after three day of efforts failed to guide it back to the ocean.
The 12-meter-long sperm whale with an injured was assessed by experts to have a slim chance of survival as it lacked the strength to swim back to deep sea with an injured tail as it lingered off the coast at Daya Bay in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Wednesday noon.
Experts ruled out euthanising the whale through injecting poison, which could pollute surrounding seawater. The use of a gun or explosives would damage the marine mammal’s body, preventing future study, so experts decided to let it die naturally, Guangzhou Daily reported.
The whale still showed signs of life as of Wednesday noon, yet it had hardly moved from Tuesday midnight from a spot about 10 meters offshore, the report said.
Assessed to weigh three tonnes, the whale was noticed by a nearby diving group on Sunday caught in a fishing net off Huizhou Harbour. Its tail was severely injured when it was found.