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ARCHIVED - Rescued Mallorca whale dies off coast of Valencia
The mammoth whale had been freed from fishing nets off the coast of the Spanish island
An enormous humpback whale that was dramatically freed from a fishing net and released to the sea in Cala Millor de Mallorca earlier this week has sadly died off the coast of Tavernes de la Valldigna in Valencia.
The mammoth creature appeared on Thursday afternoon, May 26, looking “extremely weak” and sporting several cuts to its dorsal fin.
A rescue team from the Fundación Oceanogràfic approached the whale to examine it but sadly, it died before the experts could intervene.
The 25-tonne, 12-metre-long whale stunned a local fishing boat last Saturday afternoon, which immediately notified the authorities that it appeared to be caught in a net around one mile from Punta de n'Amer. A multi-disciplinary team led by the Ministry of the Environment was immediately dispatched to free the adrift whale, which by that time had floated 1.5 miles to the southwest due to the wind.
Rescue divers took to the water with sharp implements and eventually severed the net in which the huge fish had become entangled. The whale was finally released by Skualo Porto Cristo and Albatros de Cala Bona and swam out into deeper water.
"Never in 25 years have we witnessed anything like this," said one of the divers.
Unfortunately though, this was not the happy ending that its rescuers had envisioned.
Oceanographers are now examining the possibility of towing the whale to shore so that they can establish a cause of death.
“Given the serious condition and its size, the chances of rescue were nil. We would generate more injuries and complicate his condition and, possibly, tomorrow he would appear again in the sand”, explained José Luis Crespo, head of Conservation at the Fundación Oceanogràfic.
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Image: Pixaby
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