Instead Of Clicking Selfies, A Bunch Of Beachgoers Rescued A Pod Of Stranded Whales
Beachgoers stepped in to help several pilot whales that beached on a coastal Georgia island. People of all ages joined hands and did their best to push most of the distressed marine mammals back out to sea. The reason for whales getting stranded ashore is hugely debated topic among scientist.
We've heard of multiple instances where people instead of helping animals have gone ahead and clicked selfies instead.
But this wasn't the case in Georgia island where locals got together and did everything in their power to help a pod of stranded pilot whales.
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According to reports, beachgoers stepped in to help several pilot whales that beached on a coastal Georgia island. Facebook user named Dixie McCoy, who witnessed he incident posted videos of the rescue effort online.
Dixie McCoy told CNN hat at least 20 whales came near the shore of St. Simons Island's East Beach.
Dixie McCoy was quoted as saying, "As we arrived at the beach, we noticed a group of people in the water. At first, we thought they had dolphins doing some sort of show. As we got closer, we couldn't believe what we saw. It was so sad to see so many whales on the beach. Everyone was trying so hard to get them back in the water."
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Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife biologist Clay George was quoted as saying, "That's a spooky situation because most of those animals are probably healthy and just followed others to the shore. Most of them luckily remained in shallow water. If they had beached themselves, they probably would have all ended up dead."
McCoy estimated there were around 40 animals on the beach, but the local news agency WJCL reported there were more than 50 beached whales.
People of all ages joined hands and did their best to push most of the distressed marine mammals back out to sea.
So why do whales get beached ashore?
The whales that got beached in the above incident were Pilot whales. They are known to be largest members of the dolphin family, second only to the killer whale in size.
According to Live Science report, the Pilot whales that got beached were presumably short-finned ones that are found in the higher latitudes of both hemisphere.
The reason for whales getting stranded ashore is hugely debated topic among scientist, one that still doesn't have a concrete answer. But one theory suggests that it has something to do with Pilot whales' echo-location and they use this to find a prey like squid. In their hunt for the prey, the whales more often than not get disoriented and lose direction close to the shore and get stranded.
Another possibility as quoted by DNR report is that the Pilot whales are "highly social animals and will frequently follow leaders and attempt to congregate around sick or injured individuals."
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and the ACS estimates there are about 200,000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide.
