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| The body of the sperm whale. |
February 4, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of unusual and symbolic animal behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the appearance of rare creatures.
Dead sperm whale washed ashore at Ganjam, India
The sight of dead body of a 35 feet long and 10 feet round sperm whale washed ashore shocked locals on Tuesday near Kantiagada village that under Ganjam block.The whale is suspected to have died five days back.
Informing about the body that washed ashore, Khalikote Forest Ranger, Dilip Kumar Martha, said, "We doubt that the whale died four or five days back. Initial investigations suggest that the whale died after being hit by a ship. The Odisha museum has also been informed about the whale if they ever want to preserve it. If they don't, the whale will be buried near the coast." - Iamin.
Blue whale rescued off Dapoli, India
The whale, weighing approximately 25 tonnes, was seemingly stranded in the shallows during the night because of the high tide and was then trapped in the sand.Sightings of whales along the coastline of Maharashtra seem to have become a common occurrence. Three days after a 45-feet-long Bryde's Whale was found dead on the Juhu beach, another behemoth whale was spotted around 200 km away from Mumbai.
A 40-feet-long blue whale was spotted stranded in the shallow waters of Dapoli beach in Ratnagiri district by members of the Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra on February 1, who successfully rescued it and sent it back into deeper seas.
According to the environmental group, on a chilly morning at around 6 am, a volunteer of the group saw the whale struggling to keep itself in the waters, almost 100 metres from the shore. The whale, weighing approximately 25 tonnes, was seemingly stranded in the shallows during the night because of the high tide and was then trapped in the sand.
"Immediately, the volunteer alerted other members of the group and we informed the forest officials," Project Director, Mohan Upadhye from Dapoli said. The distress call by the group was heeded by around 25 men of the village, alongside a strong force of forest officials as well.
Upon reaching the spot, they saw that the whale stuck in the sand. Efforts started to keep it in water, while a veterinarian checked the mammal for any injury.
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Volunteers
of Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra and forest officials rescuing the stranded
blue whale on Dapoli beach in Ratnagiri district.© Mohan Upadhye
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| © Mohan Upadhye |
"The vet found that the whale was suffering from some infection, he administered an injection and then the whale started beating water with its tail," Upadhye added.
A herculean task involving watering the whale and checking its vitals was carried out for more than five hours.At 5 pm, during the high tide, the group brought two trawlers to tow the whale back into deeper waters. They safely attached a thick rope to the tail of the whale and started to tow it into the deep sea.
"The rope broke twice because of the sheer weight of the whale. However on the third attempt, we were successful in putting it in deep waters," Upadhye told.
Swimmers untied the rope from the whale which gracefully dived in the Arabian Sea, before surfing up once. - DNA India.
Rare wild jaguar spotted living in U.S.
Researchers
in Arizona have released video showing jaguar living near Tucson. It is
thought to be the only living jaguar in the United States.
WATCH: Rare wild jaguar spotted living in U.S.
- CNN.
