Beached beluga whales happen more often than you might think! When this family discovered one while they were on vacation, they knew they had to act fast. This rescue turned into something extraordinary in the process.
20. Beluga Whales
Image: ecorazzi
Beluga whales are one of the smallest species of whales. Many people can easily recognize one because of their distinct white color and rounded foreheads.
19. Social
Image: awesome ocean
Beluga whales are social creatures and they love to interact and play. They’re incredibly vocal and communicate through a variety of clicks and whistles.
18. Beached Whales
Image: national geographic video
Unfortunately, beached whales occur more often than we’d like. There are a ton of factors that can contribute to a whale getting beached. However, some of the more common ones include getting hit by a ship or getting entangled in fishing lines.
17. Family Vacation
Image: wikipedia
A family was on a vacation on the shores of the St. Lawrence river. They were enjoying their time walking around the beach. Then they saw something horrible!
16. Beached Baby
Image: the dodo
There on the shore was a beached baby whale! The family was completely taken aback by the scene. The poor baby was obviously suffering out on the dry sand.
15. Helping Out
Image: facebook
So the family immediately decided to step in and help. The family quickly gathered around the baby beluga whale and noticed that it was very dried out. So they came up with a plan!
14. A Hole
Image: facebook
“We dug a hole so that water would accumulate and its skin would hydrate,” 15-year-old Nicholas Milliard, who first found the calf with his younger brothers, told CBC News. “Every five minutes we got it a bucket of water. The water level was dropping, and it was becoming more and more difficult to get water.”
13. Wet Towels
The family gathered up some towel and got them wet. They kept the baby whale hydrated while they made a phone call for help.
13. Help Arriving
Image: the dodo
The family called for help and officials at the Group for Research and Education on Marine Animals (GREMM) quickly arrived. They began to resuscitate the baby whale so that they can bring it back into the water.
12. Newborn
Image: facebook
It was obvious to the rescue team that the baby whale had just been born just a few hours earlier. It was then also discovered that the baby beluga whale had lost its mother.
11. Returned
Image: the dodo
Finally, once the whale had been resuscitated they began to bring it back into the river. Once it was in the river it quickly swam off and toward a nearby pod of female whales.
10. Hopeful
Image: facebook
The GREMM hoped that the female pod would accept the new baby as their own. They were worried that without a mother around, this tiny baby beluga whale wouldn’t make it for very long.
9. Recent Reports
Image: the dodo
The hope, as GREMM president told Le Devoir, was that one of the other females might be induced to feed her. However, recent reports have stated that this hasn’t quite happened yet. This has been frustrating for the GREMM officials.
8. Nursing
Image: facebook
Baby beluga whales nurse for around two years once they’re born. Since this baby whale is only a few days old, it is imperative for it to find another female whale to care for it…
7. No Outcome
“For now, we do not yet know the outcome of the story,” Michaud told Le Devoir. The survival of the calf is of particular importance to the area for a very specific reason…
6. St. Lawrence
Image: facebook
GREMM has been particularly worried over the survival of this calf since beluga whale numbers in the area have been fluctuating. According to The Dodo, “The area,” Michaud notes, “once boasted thousands of beluga whales.”
5. Decreasing
Image: cbc
However, over the years, the population has begun to steadily decline. The population is now at less than 900 beluga whales. So what has been causing such a decline?
4. The Cause
Image: wwf – canada
According to the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, much of the beluga whale’s decrease in population is due to tons of pollution in the river. Throughout the years, the river has only grown more and more contaminated.
3. Holding Out
Image: earth rangers
Despite all of the odds being against her, this tiny beluga whale managed to tough it out while being beached. She stood against the odds and managed to make it back into the water alive thanks to her helpers.
2. A Mother
Image: live science
Now the same tiny calf is holding out for a mother. Her perseverance is admirable and we can only hope that this baby calf finds the mother that she so desperately needs.
1. Great Heroes
Image: youtube
Thanks to the wonderful family that discovered the calf, this tiny baby has been given a second chance at life. Hopefully, a mother will step up from the pod and help this tiny calf continue its life.