REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities and beachgoers came together to protect and transport five pilot whales trapped in shallow water along Florida’s western shore.
News outlets report the whales were first spotted Monday morning and biologists and beachgoers swung into action, covering the whales from the climbing sun as the tide pulled away from shore.
Biologists determined the whales were healthy enough for transport, and volunteers teamed up to move the heavy creatures. Three whales were returned to the sea, while two others were taken to a Clearwater Marine Aquarium facility in Tarpon Springs for medical treatment and testing.
Aquarium spokeswoman Carlee Wendell says pilot whale mass strandings have happened about a dozen times since 1990. Just this month, dozens of disoriented pilot whales were saved from a mass stranding near a Georgia shore.
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