A number of these whales have been beached in and around Mossel Bay in recent years and it is still unknown what caused this pair to beach.
The mother whale was 3m long and her weaned male calf 2,5m.
The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia Breviceps) is a small toothed whale and not often sighted at sea. Most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded specimens and their conservation status is unknown.
According to eyewitnesses, local fishermen came across the animals on Friday morning at around 08:30 and tried to launch them back into the swell. Eventually they notified the authorities and soon local emergency services, including Craig Viljoen who runs the Cetacean Stranding Unit in the Mossel Bay area, were on the scene followed by marine experts from Oceans Research.
A number of student interns, after being briefed by Viljoen, continued the rescue operation. Making up two groups, they tried tirelessly to swim the whales back into the surf, but to no avail as they continued beaching.
The operation continued for numerous hours, but the whales' sensitive skins became bruised and bloodied from continuously rolling in the surf. At long last, the students congregated around the whales in an effort to make them as comfortable as possible amidst the circumstances.
Unfortunately, the animals had to be euthanased.
A necropsy (animal autopsy) has been requested to determine the cause of death, among other things, as conservationists believe it to be an ideal opportunity, however tragic, to gain knowledge about this shy whale.
Student interns from Africa Media and Oceans Research involved in a gruelling rescue operation on Friday, trying to get a pygmy sperm whale cow and her calf to swim back into the ocean. The NSRI also helped, but the whales eventually had to be euthanased. Photo: Dave van der Merwe
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