**** MARS Release
Sad update : The MARS team have a crew on the way after the young pilot whale from last night’s rescue attempt was found deceased this morning on rocks not far from her location last night
It has been a very long day for MARS!
Around 10 am this morning, we received a call of a live whale that had stranded on Rainbow Haven Beach which had been pulled back into the water by a bystander.
Unfortunately, the whale then moved ~3km into the back of a neighbouring salt marsh, a location that was incredibly difficult to remove it from. We were able to get it into our refloatation pontoons and slowly move her back to the more open water.
The extreme wind and surf though made it impossible to get the little whale out into much deeper water and, unfortunately, despite our best efforts, she kept restranding after each refloatation attempt. We stayed with her as long as was safe after dark to keep her comfortable.
The animal is a very small, female pilot whale, one who may not have been fully weaned but had definitely been separated from her pod. We will be checking on the whale at first light tomorrow and, if she’s still there, we will reassess the situation to determine what can be done for her.
If anyone spots her tomorrow, please keep your distance and call the MARS hotline immediately: 1-866-567-6277
We want to thank everyone who helped us with this animal in person and on the phone, especially members of NS Lands and Forest, local fire departments, the bystanders who stayed with the whale and our responders and Wanda and Jamie, who brought a boat in at the last minute so we could get her out of the rapidly dropping tide in the marsh to deeper water. Your support throughout all of this was incredible and very much appreciated!
A special thanks to all who came down to the beach but maintained their distance from the whale, and especially, one another as per covid restrictions. We want to help these animals, but we want to make sure everyone stays safe!
http://marineanimals.ca/support/donate/
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