Stranded humpback whale dead after being rescued twice on east China beach

The humpback whale stranded three times on Qidong Beach in Jiangsu Province is confirmed dead on November 15, 2017. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

A humpback whale, which has been rescued twice from being stranded on Qidong Beach in east China's Jiangsu Province, is now confirmed dead.

The whale was found stranded three times in the past three days.

The humpback whale stranded three times on Qidong Beach in Jiangsu Province is confirmed dead on November 15, 2017. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

Animal scientist Xu Xinrong suspects the death was caused by the whale's malfunctioning navigation system, which was caused by chronic diseases. However, the exact cause of the whale's death is not yet known. 

The humpback whale was rescued twice by locals on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

On Wednesday, rescue workers flushed the whale's body to keep it wet. In the meantime, whale research experts from Nanjing Normal University also arrived at the scene to check its health and guide the rescue process.

Experts arrive at the scene to check the stranded humpback whale's health and guide the rescue process on Qidong Beach in Jiangsu Province on November 14, 2017. This was the second time it was stranded on the beach. [Photo: WeChat]

According to the experts on the site, the life signs of the whale were stable then, but they did not rule out the possibility of the damage to its internal organs after it was detached from sea water. The experts are yet to find out how it became stranded again.

Observers noticed that there were foam-like secretions around the whale's eyes from time to time and the whale sent out a low-pitched sound that human ears could barely hear. 

Rescue workers hollowed out the sand around the whale and diverged the sea water near it as the tide rose at around 5:40 pm Wednesday.

Finally at 7:05 pm, the whale started to move and swim back to the sea as the water tide was getting higher.

Local police officers pour water on a stranded humpback whale to keep it wet on Qidong Beach in Jiangsu Province on November 13, 2017.[Photo: VCG]

On Tuesday, with the help of local police officers, the whale managed to swim back to the sea after a rescue effort that lasted five hours.