The first incident was reported to the Plett NSRI at around 14:15. Two whales had become stranded on Solar Beach. It is thought that it was a cow and calf pair, the calf estimated to be just less than a year old. When the NSRI arrived on the scene, members of the public were attempting to get the cow back into the water, while the calf remained beached. They were out of the water for about 30 minutes before the public, lifeguards and NSRI volunteers eventually managed to get them both back in the water. Marine scientist, Professor Vic Cockroft was also alerted to assist.
Referring to the cow, NSRI Station Commander Raymond Farnham said, "She still had some fight." She re-beached herself twice during the attempts and finally, on the third attempt, she swam out strongly to meet her calf.
However, according to local expert, Dr Gwenith Penry, there is a very high likelihood that whales who had beached will return to the beach within a day or two after being re-floated. Autopsy results on unfortunate beached whales reveal that such whales most often suffered from some health ailment at the time of the beaching.
The second beaching incident took place further along Robberg Beach at Meidebank at around 18:00. Various witnesses have different accounts of this incident, with some suspecting that it was the same calf that had to be rescued earlier. Local vete-rinarian, Brendan Tindall was called to the scene since, if the beached calf at Meidebank proved to be the same calf, it would have had to be euthanised. Fortunately this was not the case and the whale calf was successfully released by lifeguards, the NSRI and members of the public. She was placed on a board and accompanied by swimmers until she was able to make the rest of journey out to sea on her own.
At the time of print, no reports have been received of these whales returning to beach.
Little is known
Pygmy Sperm Whales are deep-water creatures and generally live far from the shore beyond the continental shelf. Little is known about this species, and what is known has been learnt from autopsies on beached members of the species. Strandings seem common to this species. Often, they beach alive, either as single individuals or cow-calf pairs.
"There are two similar species, the Dwarf - and the Pygmy Sperm Whale, which are difficult to tell apart," explained Dr Penry. There have been four incidents of beaching in this area in the past six years, and much speculation exists as to what may cause these whales to beach themselves, from underwater noise to seismic activity. While extensive research is being done, at this stag no-one really knows what causes the behaviour, but evidence shows that beached specimen are often ill. The high incidence of cow and calf beachings can be explained, since the calf would instinctively follow its ailing mother ashore, inadvertently ending up stranded. Whatever the cause, this particular story has a happy ending with all three whales safely back in the ocean where they belong.
ARTICLE: CANDICE LUDICK
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The joyous release of a beached Pygmy Sperm Whale at Solar Beach, Plettenberg Bay.
(Photo: Roger Holmes)
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A juvenile Pygmy Sperm Whale being assisted by members of the public, NSRI and lifeguards at Meidebank at Robberg. This was the second of two beaching incidents on Sunday, January 16. Read more on page 7. (Photo: Rob Smith)
