When a baby humpback whale washed ashore in Ponta do Ouro, the community came together in an incredible act of courage, teamwork, and respect for the ocean.
The Call
11 September 2018. 06h20am
Phone ringing… When my phone starts ringing so early in the morning, there is always something up? I received a distress call from the local community about a beached whale that was still alive and breathing — come help!
Huh! Say again?
Beached whale on the beach, it’s still alive.
Please come help!
At first it did not make sense, but the coffee got left behind and we were off to the beach. Not sure what to expect when we arrived, walking over the small dune onto the beach, I saw this massive figure lying on the beach, still alive and breathing. You could see in the body language of the whale that there was something wrong. Covered in millions of small red lice all over the body and to make matters worse, the tide was about to go out. What to do… I felt helpless. Because this animal was huge.
The Struggle
Marine officers and Police were on the scene with local bystanders and everybody just admiring the situation and knowledge being discussed on what to do next. She was a baby female — approximately 5 years of age, 11 meters in length and about 10 tons. She was sick and it was confirmed by a test done in Maputo, Mozambique.
It’s always sad to see any marine mammal helplessly stranded, even worse when you can’t help them! Humpback whale numbers are on the incline and as we see more whales alive than ever before, it’s just right to assume that we will see more dead whales in the future. Maybe this is also the reason that we have had more Orca sightings in the last couple of years than ever before.
We lost one whale today but gained a wider ecosystem and understanding of how the circle of life works. The baby female whale passed away later that morning and this is where the story starts… Trust me — you want to stay tuned for the rest of this amazing story.
The Effort
Tests were done and confirmation was received that the meat was still good for human consumption. The community of Ponta do Ouro were given the opportunity by noon on the 11th of September to salvage and collect what they could of the meat — and so it began.
For the next two days the community made great effort to take what they could, and so did the sharks — the community on low tide and the sharks on high tide, with more activity at night. The carcass constantly moved with the tides on Ponta’s beach with shark sightings and activity increasing every day.
By 12 & 13 September 2018 (Wednesday & Thursday), the community of Ponta do Ouro made a significant dent into the whale carcass, and so did the sharks with evidence of bite marks visibly on the carcass.
There was a small effort made to try and remove the carcass from the beach and tow it out to sea for various reasons (health risk + shark attraction to the bay), but it was soon discovered that it would need more teamwork and planning to get the carcass out to sea. So the planning started.
Local dive operators from Ponta do Ouro — Back to Basic Adventures, Gozo Azul Dive Charters, Dolphin Encounters Research Center , and everybody that wanted to be part of the mission — jumped at the opportunity to help move this huge piece of dead whale carcass.
Sea water, the sun, and rotten blubber is an indescribable stench. You could smell carcass from a mile away with lots of blubber pieces all over the beach and it was becoming a health concern. The “team” got together on Thursday afternoon just before sunset and decided that on Friday morning, 04:00 at high tide, we would make an effort to remove the carcass from the beach.
Friday 14 September 2018 — 04:00 am. We got together as planned and now we had to move this huge carcass. B2Basic and Gozo both launched their boats and were situated just behind the backline, where they dropped two brave ladies into the water.
These two swam from the backline with ropes connected to the boats through shark waters. If I mean sharks, I mean I could see them as shallow as knee depth — and not just one… Trust me if I tell you I was nervous for them.
They made it with no hassle, the ropes were attached to the whale’s tail and the process of moving the carcass started. The rest of the team and some onlookers were on the beach, trekkers ready, and sunrise about to hit the beach.
The lines were attached to the whale tail and tension was given by the boats in the water. Let me tell you, we struggled for about an hour with no movement of the carcass. Laying on its back, the exposed vertebrae dug into the sand making it impossible to move. We decided to flip the carcass on its belly so we could make it float.
We attached a rope onto the dorsal fin and flipped the carcass on its belly — it took a couple of attempts to achieve this. Just after sunrise, we successfully flipped the carcass and it started floating.
The journey to its resting place began and we made our way to the second boat. Let me tell you, the ropes, boat decks, wetsuits, the water — everybody involved got covered in blubber oil from head to toe.
With two boats, it took us a good hour and a half of towing the half-chopped-up carcass to its final resting place. There was a distinctive oil trail left behind all along the surface, clearly visible to the eye, and behind that, slowly following — a couple of sharks just visible in the distance.
The Legacy
Destination: Atlantic Reef, 47.5m.
The carcass was tied down at Atlantis with ropes and it was time to get the snorkel gear together. Yes, snorkel the floating carcass from a distance and observe.
There was a quick briefing done and time to go. As we entered the water, in the distance circling the bottom of the carcass, two bull sharks were clearly visible. Adrenaline pouring through my veins — this was an exhilarating experience. Once in a lifetime.
This was a quick snorkel session for various reasons and diving this carcass made more sense. Back to the boat to gear up for diving this floating meatball. Terrifying yet amazing it was.
For the next couple of days, the diving was spectacular — with 30 sharks (Tiger and Bull) counted at one stage close to the carcass. Eventually, pieces broke off by day three and the whale’s tail sank to 47.5m on the bottom close to Atlantis Reef.
The jaw, head, and some vertebrae parts washed up in the Ponta Malongane area and were collected for display purposes by marine authorities. It only took six days from being washed up onto the beach to only just bones.
Respect to Mother Nature.
Author: A3k
Short Bio: Local diver and storyteller from Ponta do Ouro who shares real-life ocean experiences and marine adventures through the Ponta Gazette.
Photo Credits
All photos used in this story are courtesy of Back to Basics Adventures and photographer Ryan Daly. We thank them for capturing and sharing these incredible moments from Ponta do Ouro.
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