Thrice-stranded whale dies in Jiangsu
The carcass of a humpback whale is lifted ashore in Qidong, in Jiangsu Province on November 15, 2017. The whale, which died after struggling for hours in a rising tide, had many scars on its body.
A young humpback whale that beached itself in Qidong, in east Jiangsu Province, died on Wednesday after it was stranded for a third time in three days.
The 7-meter-long mammal, which was between 3 and 5 years old, was found stranded in shallow water. It died after struggling for hours in a rising tide.
Police and fishermen twice tried to rescue the whale after it was first found stranded on Monday afternoon. A boat was sent to direct it towards deeper waters.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 2.8-ton whale ran ashore again just 3 kilometers from where it was first found, and it was rescued again.
On Monday, Tang Jianhua, from the Jiangsu marine research institute, joined the rescue effort. He had predicted that the whale would not survive because there were “many scars on its body, new and old.”
Xu Xinrong, from the life sciences institute of Nanjing Normal University, said he suspected the whale had a disease that caused it to lose its ability to navigate.
The provincial fishery department said the dead whale would be used for scientific research.
