An unusual rescue operation took place in late April in eastern China. Firefighters and volunteers from east China's Zhejiang Province spent almost a day rescuing a beached sperm whale. The giant ended up ashore and couldn't return back to the sea.
A hundred of buckets prepared to rescue the whale
Residents of Ningbo city spotted the stranded sea giant 820 yards away from the coastline. Before the rescue crew could haul the 62ft long giant back to the sea, dozens of people poured seawater from plastic buckets over the sperm whale.
The local emergency services estimated its weight at between 60 and 70 tonnes. The situation could have ended with the animal's death due to overheating and dehydration if it had been found even an hour later or if emergency measures had not been taken. And that would have been sad to accept, because whales often save people from sharks.
Hauling the giant
In addition to pouring gallons of water on the mammal, a deep trench was dug and filled with seawater. So one half of the whale was in the water and the other half was kept showered. When the tide rose at about 5:30 a.m., the whale was tied to a boat with ropes and towed to shallow water, deep enough for the giant to swim back to the sea on its own.
Despite 20 hours spent ashore, the mammal was active in the water. It immediately rushed to the depths, and the rescuers barely had time to remove the tow ropes from it. For a moment, the 70-ton creature seemed to be towing the boat, but all ended well. Everyone was happy with the successful rescue, and the freed prisoner of coastal sands waved its tail goodbye and swam away.
Would you take part in such an unusual rescue operation, knowing that the life of this giant depends on you? Write your opinion! Thanks to everyone who kept the whale alive!
And now watch the video of this amazing rescue:
Source: zen.com
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