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EnvironmentStranded sei whale dies after over 24-hour rescue operation in San Fernando, Argentina
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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.
Source report
A rescuer tries to free the sei whale. Source: Fundación Temaikén/dpa
A seven-meter-long sei whale stranded on a sandbank in the Río de la Plata has died, despite a large-scale rescue operation that lasted more than a day.
"Unfortunately, the animal did not survive despite all efforts," the Temaikén nature conservation foundation announced.
Rescue Efforts
Rescue teams had planned to use a rise in the water level of the Río de la Plata to free the whale. In an elaborate operation, they worked for over a day to free the animal from its predicament off the coast of San Fernando, a suburb north of the capital Buenos Aires.
The situation was described as "critical" from the start. The whale's entire weight was pressing on its belly, impairing the function of its organs, according to an initial statement. To reduce stress for the multi-ton animal, helpers kept its skin moist.
Challenges
The section of the river where the whale was stranded features large tidal fluctuations and numerous sandbanks. Rescue teams had planned to use the rising water level to free the animal and guide it into deeper water, allowing it to return to the sea. Ultimately, this did not succeed.
Background
The whale (Balaenoptera borealis) was first sighted on Friday (local time). In winter in the southern hemisphere, sei whales migrate northward off the Argentine Atlantic coast. It is common to sight them between Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil near the mouth of the Río de la Plata, Temaikén explained.
It is likely that the animal lost its orientation due to a combination of environmental factors or a health problem, traveled upstream, and eventually stranded on the sandbank.
dpa/luwi
Source
Nachrichten - WELTWestern
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Stranded sei whale dies after day-long rescue operation in Argentina