Injured whale rarely in RP dies on Subic beach

SUBIC, Zambales — A 500-kilogram Blainville’s beaked whale, stranded along the shore, here, last Wednesday, died after a desperate attempt by marine experts and rescue volunteers to push it back into sea.

“This is the first time that a Blainville’s beaked whale has been documented to have stranded in the country. We are still trying to find out the cause of the whale’s death,” Dr. Leo Suarez, a marine biologist here, said.

A rescue team tried to push the whale into the sea but it kept returning to shore in Sitio Matangib, Barangay Cawag, here.

Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (SBI-FARMC) Chairman Laureano Artagame said the aquatic mammal, also called the dense-beaked whale, seemed to have suffered from cuts and kept swimming to shore where it eventually died. (by By FRANCO G. REGALA With a report from Jonas Reyes - mb.com.ph)