Residents, game wardens and the police came together yesterday for a daring rescue of a baby whale beached at the La Lune Beach in Moruga.
A resident walking along the beach spotted the melon headed whale around 6 am and went to its assistance.
The whale was estimated to be about 350 pounds and eight feet in length.
Speaking with reporters at the beach, Claudius Jackson said he was taking his routine morning walk when he spotted the whale.
“I went and call a neighbour. A neighbour and me pull it out in the deep. All how we try to carry it out. Look these clothes I have on me, I wet up. All my phone and watch wet up.”
He said the neighbour left but he dragged it further down the beach in a safer area on the shore. As more residents gathered and they waited for help to arrive, two women were seen sitting on either side of it and wetting the whale.
There were a few bruises on its skin.
“All the skin wail up and thing. It look like it was in a net...out in the sea. It look like it get tie-up.”
Eric Lewis, the curator of the Moruga Museum, said he believes the whale lost its way due to the murky water. He said this is the third whale that has beached in Moruga over the last three years.
With the assistance of Game Wardens Andy Singh, Steve Seepersad, Bisham Madhu and Jeremy Dindial, the police and residents, the whale was lifted and placed on the tray of a pick-up van and taken to La Ruffin beach where the water was clearer.
The game wardens and other persons then swam alongside the whale, guiding it out into the deep.
But, T&T Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TTMMSN) has urged caution when it comes to handling beached mammals.
Veterinarian Dr Wade Seukeran explained that TTMMSN includes government and non-government agencies with persons trained to respond to stranded marine mammals.
The network said once a beached whale is spotted they can be contacted at 735-3530.
The Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division can also be aclled at 662-5114; 645-4288; 639-2570.