Gray whale beached for three days, yet lives to swim away

Wildlife veterinarian Lesanna Lahner said the 9,000-pound, 24-foot-long, likely male grey whale survived two days longer than an adult would under similar conditions. At slighter more than 4 tons, “being smaller allowed him to live longer,” Lahner said.

When a whale becomes stranded on a beach, its immense weight crushes its skeletal muscle and causes its heart to labor to pump, Lahner said.

Ordinarily, an adult beached whale will survive a day. “This is a very rare case,” Lahner said. “Super rare. Everyone around the country is really interested in how the whale was rescued.”

At low tide, responders from NOAA Fisheries and Olympic National Park fashioned a harness around the whale linked to pulleys anchored lower on the beach and on the shore.

Then, at high tide, about 25 people used the pulley system to turn the whale seaward and pull him 4 to 6 feet into the surf. Then, a few experienced marine experts entered the water with the whale and removed the harness.

UCJ, UNILORIN.