Early Wednesday morning, a group of local surfers in Boca Barranca, Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, rescued a newborn pilot whale trapped at the mouth of a river.
One of the surfers who discovered the newborn whale just after 5 a.m., Mauricio Camareno, claimed they initially observed a “black bulge” near the edge of a river before hearing the animal scream out in anguish as they got closer.
“She was very weak and could not keep afloat,” Camareno told Amelia Rueda, who said that the whale had made its way about 50 meters upriver from the sea. Camareno and his surfing companions labored to carry the heavy animal back to the mouth of the river, where they stayed with the animal for more than six hours as it regained its strength.
Several residents phoned the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the Coast Guard during that period, according to Camareno, but neither agency arrived at the site.
“They said they had to follow a routine to see whether the whale was infected.” “MINAE promised to bring a [veterinarian], but no one showed up for the entire time we were there,” Camareno claimed.
Failing to receive a response, the group of surfers waited for the tide to rise in order to guide the animal back to sea. Camareno said it took several tries, but the baby whale eventually dived and disappeared into the sea, presumably in search of its herd and mother.
When fully grown, the species typically measure between 21 and 24 feet in length, with females weighing up to 1,300 kg and males up to 2,300 kg.
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