“It was magnificent”: a whale stranded on a beach managed to return to the water

In Finistère, a whale was stranded on a beach on Monday September 19. Thanks to the mobilization of volunteers, the cetacean was able to return to the water.

In Finistère, on the beach of Ty Anquer in Ploéven, a whale was stranded on Monday September 19. This is the third whale to run aground on a French beach in September, after the discovery of a fin whale on the Ile de Sein and on a beach in Tréguennec.

Measuring 10 meters long, the cetacean was still alive, thin but with no signs of injury.

'He has no signs of injury, he's just skinny. He is not dead but he is in agony. We tried to put it back in the water but the tidal range was not enough. Her skin is very fragile, she is made to be in the water all the time” , explained Bernard Martin, volunteer of the National Stranding Network.

Volunteers helped the whale

The authorities wanted to put the animal back in the water by towing it on Monday afternoon. However, this mission of rescue was a failure since the cetacean ran aground again. A backhoe was then brought to the scene to dig a trench in the sand, promote the return of water and relieve the animal.

While waiting to put the cetacean back in the water, volunteers from the Sea Shepherd association and the Iroise marine natural park also hydrated the whale all afternoon with wet sheets.

“We are a dozen volunteers in the water trying to get the fifteen-tonne whale out at the lowest tidal coefficient and without motorized means of towing, in the middle of the night. If we get there, it will be a miracle.' , said the Sea Shepherd association on its Twitter account.

The whale returned to the water

After hours of effort, the whale finally returned to the sea. This is good news for the animal stranded on the beach and for all the people who mobilized for its rescue.

“Last night, at 12:30 a.m., the stranded whale was able to reach the sea at high tide. Under the supervision of the firefighters on site and volunteers from the Sea Shepherd association, the animal was able to take advantage of the basin and the channel dug by the means brought on site Monday afternoon to return to the sea. , said the Finistère prefecture.

Although the animal had enough strength to return to the water and suffered no injuries, we do not know more about its state of health. It only remains to hope that the whale regains weight and that its health improves so that it does not wash up again on a beach.