Beached whale rescued off Addu Nature Park

A melon-headed whale, that got stranded in the beach off the Addu Nature Park on Sunday, was rescued by the staff at the public park.

According to a post by the Addu Nature Park in its official Facebook account, the beaching incident was reported to the park, located in the Hithadhoo district of Addu City, at around 06:07 pm Sunday.

The park said their staff responded quickly to the report, and ensured the whale was kept wet at all times, using towels and buckets of seawater.

The staff made several attempts to put the whale back to the ocean, battling against strong waves.

“After several attempts to put the whale back to the ocean against strong waves, our dedicated team successfully managed to release it back to the ocean while risking their own safety at 19:40,” said the park.

The Addu Nature Park said their staff will be patrolling the area to see if the release was a success, as beached whales may be washed back up due to an injury, exhaustion or sickness.

The melon-headed whale, also known less commonly as the electra dolphin, little killer whale, or many-toothed blackfish, is a toothed whale of the oceanic dolphin family.