Five of 12 beached melon-headed whales dead, six have been returned to wild
- The final melon-headed whale in an aquatic holding facility is in poor condition
- Two of the whales died as workers tried to release them back into the wild
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Five of the 12 melon-headed whales beached in eastern China on Tuesday have died and six were returned to the wild, with one still being cared for at a local aquatic facility, according to Chinese media outlets.
Three of the whales were dead when they were discovered and the remaining nine were moved to local facilities.
On Tuesday night, two whales were released back to the ocean. On Wednesday night, six more were transported back to the ocean to be released. Two died in the process.
Three of the five whales that died will be frozen by a local seafood company and temporarily held before being used later for research, said a report in The Paper, an online media outlet on the mainland.
The report added that the final whale still at a facility is in poor condition, suffering from extreme dehydration and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Fishers first discovered the whales on the tidal flats at Linhai, Zhejiang province, at around 8am on Tuesday. The fishermen called the police and said that “there were a lot of big fish” on the mudflats, according to Qianjiang Evening News.
The police at first thought they were dolphins and started by contacting experts from a local aquarium. When aquarium staff arrived at the scene, they identified the animals as melon-headed whales, which are part of the dolphin family.
As it became clear that the animals were in trouble – it was over 30 degrees Celsius in the area – local residents covered the animals in sheets and blankets soaked in water to help them cool down and stay moist. The group also built canopies to protect the whales from the sun.
About 150 people have taken part in the rescue efforts, according to Xinhua.
Experts told China Daily that one theory is the whales swam too close to the coast during high tide because nearby food sources tempted them, and no fishing boats were disturbing the area. They were then stuck when the tide went out.
Melon-headed whales typically grow to be about 3 metres long (9 feet) and about 210kgs. They tend to live for about 45 years.
In 2017, 12-metre-long (40 feet) sperm whale was spotted trapped in fishing nets in the waters near Shenzhen, Guangdong province. After it was freed, it kept swimming back to shallow waters and later died.
