Volunteers and rescuers' race against time to save over 100 whales pays off
It has been revealed that over 100 pilot whales that were stranded on Sri Lanka’s western coast have been rescued.
According to The Guardian, this was the country’s biggest mass beaching in known history.
Villagers helped the navy push the small whales back into the sea at Panadura, south of the capital, Colombo.
'We pushed back all of them last night, about 100 to 120 whales,' navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told the news agency Reuters.
However, he added that four of the whales sadly died during the rescue operation.
The short-finned pilot whales began beaching at Panadura, 15 miles (25km) south of Colombo, shortly before dusk, with one local police chief saying that it took just one hour for 100 of them to wash up on the beach.
'With the help of local residents we are trying to push them back [into the ocean],' he said.
'But they keep getting washed ashore. We are getting help from the navy to rescue these whales.'
Pilot whales on average weigh one tonne and can grow up to six metres (20ft).
They are also known to be highly social animals.
The phenomenon of mass strandings has baffled scientists for decades.
The appearance of mass strandings were even mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who wrote about whales running aground 'rather frequently when the fancy takes them and without any apparent reason,' suggesting that implying may happen without any interference from humanity.
Meanwhile, others who have researched the subject suggest navigational errors, injuries and social bonding as potential causes for mass strandings.
Back in September, rescuers in Australia raced to save 180 stranded whales.
