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Young whale found stranded on rocks returned to the sea

Puerto Peñasco, Sonora — After hours of work, a group of people that included the navy, firefighters, the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) and municipal civil protection were successful in returning a young stranded whale to the sea. The incident happened at Puerto Peñasco, Sonora Wednesday when an early-morning walker located the whale.

The 10-meter-long young gray whale was found stranded on rocks around 5:30 a.m. An emergency call was made to the C5 center, who in turn, alerted the navy and civil protection. Officials, along with community volunteers, arrived with buckets and a water-extraction pump, which were used to keep the whale wet for approximately four hours until the tide came in.

Captain Alan Josué Ontiveros López, municipal coordinator of Civil Protection reported that when they arrived, the whale was about 200 meters away from the water.

“It was a juvenile male gray whale, which was very possibly looking for food and unfortunately the low tide drove it out of the sea, but fortunately with the help of the army, volunteers and good surf conditions, we were able to return it.”

Ontiveros López said the gray whale was stranded for four hours in front of an abandoned apartment area. About 50 people worked for hours on Playas del Mirador to keep the whale hydrated. After several attempts, the whale was finally pushed off the rocks and toward deeper water where it eventually swam away freely.