Severe weather and dangerous
swells hamper search for 2.5m pygmy or dwarf sperm whale found at Logans Beach
Tuesday 10 May 201603.30 BSTLast
modified on Tuesday 10 May 201604.25 BST
Wildlife officers
are trying to find a small and rare whale that was found stranded at a
Victorian beach on Monday evening, however their search efforts are being
hampered by severe weather and dangerous swells.
The adult whale, about 2.5m long,
was found at Logans Beach in Victoria’s south-west and rescuers believe it to
be either a pygmy sperm whale or a dwarf sperm whale.
The whale was refloated but
immediately stranded itself again. When rescuers returned to the beach to
continue their rescue efforts on Tuesday morning, the whale could not be found.
A spokesman for the Department of
Environment, Land, Water and Planning told Guardian Australia the search was
made difficult by high winds, rough swells and high tides. If the whale is
located, department wildlife officers will work with Melbourne Zoo and
Melbourne Museum to decided the best course of action.
A senior wildlife emergencies
project officer said the team’s strategy would be to stabilise the whale in
shallow water so that a veterinary examination could occur.
“The fact that the whale re-stranded
itself may be an indicator that the whale is not healthy and its stranding was
not accidental,” she said.
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