[VIDEO] A humpback whale has not survived its grounding in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Photo and video, Daniel Cyr
A humpback whale was stranded alive on Sunday in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and even if she had to fight strongly, she died a few hours later.

Stephanie Gendron

Monday, 26 march, 2018 09:20

UPDATE
Monday, 26 march, 2018 09:20

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A humpback whale that was stranded Sunday on a beach in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine struggled strongly for a few hours, but ultimately has not survived.

The presence of the whale, still alive, half-stranded on the beach of the Pond from the North was reported to authorities Sunday afternoon around 15: 30.

One person even approached her in the water to try to help. When Emergencies mammals has been known, officers of the Sûreté du Québec were contacted in light of the risks. Quickly, the person is out of the water. It is that it could have been injured by the juggernaut of more than five tons.

“A beached whale alive struggles to regain his freedom of movement. It is a behavior that could have caused an accident for the people who were trying to assist the whale. It could be extremely dangerous even if the intention was good,” said Josiane Cabana, spokeswoman of the Group for research and education on marine mammals (GREMM).

His fate

The experts quickly determined that the whale was emaciated and that his survival was understood, even if we back off. She was also very weakened. In Quebec, there are no specialized teams for stranded marine mammals live. It would have had to make coming from the outside.

“These rescue attempts are very risky and require a complex logistics. Given the size of the whale and its power, it is very risky to handle these animals, move, or even performing euthanasia, since it requires a large dose of barbiturates dangerous to handle”, also summarized Josiane Cabana.

It was decided that if the whale was still alive the next day, euthanasia would, perhaps, have been attempted. At the end of the evening, the observers on the Emergency marine mammals have reported that she was finally motionless, inert and balanced by the waves.

Experts are now trying to assess what studies will be made on the carcass.