Officials scramble to rescue 9 melon-headed whales stranded on beach in eastern China

2021-07-06 5

Officials saved nine melon-headed whales stranded on a beach in eastern China.

The video, filmed in the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province on July 6, shows wet towels covering the stranded whales and rescuers pouring water onto them to keep them moist and alive.

According to reports, three of the 12 stranded melon-headed whales were dead before the rescuers arrived.

They then lifted the nine alive whales up and brought two of them back into the sea, sending five of them to a shrimp breeding pond and the other two to Taizhou Ocean World to be taken care of temporarily.

According to experts, the incident may have been caused by a combination of the whales' echolocation and the receding tide.

The video was provided by local media with permission.