Stranded sei whale dies after day-long rescue operation in Argentina

A seven-meter-long sei whale stranded on a sandbank in the Río de la Plata river off the coast of San Fernando, Argentina, died despite a large-scale rescue operation lasting more than a day. The Temaikén nature conservation foundation reported that the animal did not survive. The whale's entire weight was pressing on its belly, impairing organ function, and rescuers kept its skin moist to reduce stress. Rescue teams had planned to use rising water levels to free the whale and guide it to deeper water, but the mission failed. The whale was first sighted on Friday local time. Experts believe the animal likely lost its orientation due to environmental factors or a health problem while migrating northward along the Argentine Atlantic coast, a common route for sei whales between Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.