Environment, Flora & Fauna

Mother whale beached at Chorrillos’ La Chira Beach dies in spite of rescue efforts, sick baby likely to die

An 80-ton whale stranded at Chorrillos’ La Chira Beach has died in spite of rescue efforts, and her sick baby – still struggling to get back to sea – is also likely to die, reported daily El Comercio.

According rescue scientist Carlos Yaipén, the 16-meter long and 80-ton mother whale and her baby were most likely found so close to the Lima shoreline because of the baby’s health problems. Preliminary health checks have determined that the baby whale is suffering from respiratory difficulties, fatigue, and because it has swallowed fishing nets, it is unlikely to survive.

Beached whales usually die because the weight of their body impedes breathing, vital organs are crushed by the great weight, and the unaccustomed temperature interval between night and day can give rise to internal chills and pneumonia.

According to Dr. William Alexander Osborne, dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Melbourne, “whales do not die because they are stranded; they are stranded because they are dying.”

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