From villagers to experts, a relay "whale" rescue
Life and death rescue of 12 "lost" melonhead whales in Zhejiang
Because of the stranding, 12 "lost" melon-headed whales in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province once fell into the quagmire of death; because of the "life and death rescue" of hundreds of people, 6 of them have already swam on the "road home".
In the eyes of fishermen who drive the sea all the year round, these spiritual creatures are called "haizi", which means "son of the sea".
Everything the rescuers do is to make them return to the sea as soon as possible.
From protecting elephants in Yunnan to saving whales and dolphins in Zhejiang, as the society's awareness of protecting wild animals grows stronger, warm stories of "people and animals live in harmony" are constantly emerging.
"Uninvited Guest" on the Beach
In the early morning of July 6, Xu Zhouya, a 61-year-old villager from Jiucheng Village, Pan Town, Linhai, Taizhou, Zhejiang, carried a plastic bucket and went to the beach of Beiyangba, Toumen Port, as usual.
The summer sun scorches the coast, but people gather on the shore.
Looking from a distance, Xu Zhouya saw a group of "uninvited guests" broke into the beach-more than 10 black "big fish" struggling in the silt.
Although she has lived by the sea for most of her life, she has never seen such a creature.
"Lying in the mud, I can't swim anymore, my body won't move, and my tail keeps patting." Xu Zhouya asked the people at the scene, and after figuring out that "they wouldn't bite", he joined the rescue team.
"Their heads are stuck in the mud. I will dig down the mud and let them lift their heads." The villager Zheng Guifen was also in the rescue team. She said that she seemed to be crying when she saw them, and she wanted to do it anyway. To save them.
More and more villagers climbed down the head of the dam to help them out of the silt that was knee-high.
"Use a plastic bucket to catch water and feed it, and it opens its mouth, and it can still hear the call of the big fish." Xu Zhouya said.
I don't know where the strength came from, the "big fish" weighing three or four hundred jins was pushed into the puddle dug out with bare hands by the villagers.
When staff from relevant departments of the local government rushed to the scene after receiving the alarm, hundreds of people had gathered in this tidal flat.
After more than ten hours of rescue by the sea, Zhu Yupeng, head of the Linhai Ocean and Fishery Law Enforcement Brigade, was tanned and red.
He recalled, “At that time, three melon-headed whales had lost their vital signs, and the remaining nine needed to be rescued immediately.”
"Before experts from all over the world arrive at the scene, they should maintain their vital signs stable." Zhu Yupeng said. Under the remote guidance of the experts, they quickly formed a series of rescue plans: water the melon whale to keep it moist, and wash the nostrils with water to ensure breathing. Unblocked, use ice cubes to cool the stranded melon head whale...
"Cetaceans live in water, and their bodies are prone to dry and crack when exposed to the air. Under the sun, the body temperature of cetaceans can easily rise and cause death." said Hao Yujiang, an associate researcher at the Institute of Aquatic Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Straighten his body to ensure that the vent is exposed so that the whale can keep breathing normally.
As the sun is getting bigger and bigger, the villagers find bamboo poles and bed sheets and other items to set up simple tents to shade the "big fish".
Because of the high temperature, the villagers relayed water and poured water on them to help it cool down.
In the afternoon, many professional teams from Hangzhou Changqiao Polar Ocean Park, Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park and other places also came to rescue.
Experts confirmed on the spot that the stranded whales were called melon-headed whales, belonging to the dolphin family, and were named after their pointed melon-shaped head.
"It is temporarily impossible to determine the cause of the stranding, but the cetacean stranding is generally a physical problem." Liu Quansheng, technical director of Hangzhou Changqiao Polar Ocean Park, said that during the rescue process, they tried to release one of the melon head whales, but found it. Still washed repeatedly.
"If they are sick, they may continue to be stranded after they are released."
After discussing with the experts, they decided to transport them off the beach for temporary storage, and release them after the treatment has recovered.
Approximately dozens of rescuers carried the stranded melon head whale out of the beach on a stretcher in the seawater that had flooded their chests.
The crane transports the melon head whale fixed on the stretcher to the dam, and then is transported by the vehicle to the nearby mariculture farm and Ocean World for temporary storage.
After about 10 hours of rescue, all stranded melon head whales were rescued ashore.
Rescue in a "race against time"
On the evening of the 6th, Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters rushed to Zhejiang Hongye Seafood Co., Ltd., which received 5 stranded melon-headed whales for temporary breeding.
I saw a pool with a diameter of 20 meters and a height of about 1.8 meters, and a water pump was filling it.
The strong white light of the searchlight illuminates the green-wave, rising water pool, and also illuminates the red and blue trucks, the yellow cranes and the caring and anxious faces around.
"We received a notice just after 12 noon to receive stranded melon head whales." Huang Yuanming, the person in charge of Zhejiang Hongye Seafood Co., Ltd., introduced that the pool was emptied and disinfected at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and then poured through sedimentation and water. Clean sea water after UV disinfection treatment.
At about 10:50 in the evening, the water volume in the pool had reached the requirement, and rescuers began to transfer the melon head whales from the truck to the pool.
Chang Feng, manager of the animal department of Hangzhou Changqiao Polar Ocean Park, put on a diving suit and jumped into the pool, took the melonhead whale from the stretcher, and "supported" it with two other rescuers.
"Some melon-headed whales have been stranded for too long and cannot fully maintain their body balance. We need to support them, otherwise they may choke water and cause lung infections," said Chang Feng.
It was close to midnight, and the five melon-headed whales entered the pool smoothly. All the people present breathed a sigh of relief. Although the state of the whales is still not optimistic, they have returned to the water they are familiar with.
On the 7th, the reporter came to the holding point again. At this time, the highest outdoor temperature reached about 37 degrees Celsius, and the pumping machine by the pool rumbling sound, pumping sea water into the pool uninterruptedly.
Every half an hour, a car of ice was poured into the pool. Huang Yuanming told reporters that as of noon on the 7th, nearly 80 tons of ice had been consumed.
Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters saw that under the careful care of rescuers, some melon-headed whales were rejuvenating after a night of recuperation.
As of 3 p.m. on the 7th, of the 5 melon-headed whales temporarily housed here, 4 have been able to escape the care of ambulancemen, exhaling and cruising freely in the pool.
At the same time, in another temporary shelter 100 kilometers away-Taizhou Ocean World, the staff also performed a comprehensive physical examination on the two melon-headed whales here.
"Last night, we arranged two professional trainers to accompany them overnight. One is to help them adapt to the new environment as soon as possible, and the other is to prevent them from harming themselves from excessive behavior." said Chen Jun, manager of the customer service department of Taizhou Ocean World. The state of the melon head whale is generally stable.
Since the rescue of stranded melon head whales started on the evening of the 6th, more than 40 technicians from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other aquariums have been fighting for the front line without sleep.
Lu Wenhui, a whale and dolphin conservator at Hangzhou Changqiao Polar Ocean Park, rescued for 12 hours. Because of fatigue, he was too tired to hold a melon-headed whale underwater.
"Go home" late at night, reluctant to leave
On the evening of the 6th, the two melon-headed whales that were transferred to Baisha Bay earlier were diagnosed and were in good physical condition.
Experts and fishery administration ships escorted them to the vicinity of Toumenshan Island and released them to the sea.
At high tide late at night, one of the melon-headed whales swam for a while, as if reluctantly bidding farewell and thanking them, and finally under the guidance of the staff, they swam to the depths of the sea.
On the 7th, after a day of recuperation and recovery, another 6 melon-headed whales decided to be released immediately after experts tested the relevant indicators.
Sun Yihan, a trainer from Taizhou Ocean World, said: "We have specifically asked the driver to drive at the same speed as possible during the transportation of melonhead whales to avoid collisions with melonhead whales in the carriage."
From the holding point to the release to the sea, it will go through a long period of transportation. In the case of tight time and limited conditions, all the vehicles transporting melonhead whales are padded with sponges to maintain a certain depth of water to ensure the moisturization of the whales. And reduce the pressure on the organs.
"The staff smeared petroleum jelly on the whale body to prevent dehydration, and added ice cubes to the seawater to lower the water temperature." Liu Quansheng said.
When the truck carrying melon head whales arrived at the Toumen Port wharf, the return ship was already waiting on the shore.
The melon head whales were slowly hoisted from the car one by one, and after being put on the boat, they began to go to the waters near Liangmao Island in the southeast of Toumen Island.
Although the sea storm was as high as level 8 that night, rescuers still insisted on rushing to the originally planned sea area and did not choose to release them in the sea with less wind and waves.
I chose here because my first release was in this sea area.
"Melon-headed whales belong to a group of creatures. If they are released in the same area, the melon-headed whales can get in touch with each other and regroup." Zhu Yupeng said.
Experts measured and recorded the body length of the whales and collected their feces.
Zhu Yupeng introduced that most of these whales are male, and most of them are adults.
Dr. Cheng Zhaolong from the Yellow River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences said that considering the principle of timeliness of release, the melonhead whales released this time did not have a positioning system installed for tracking research.
This "home" road is destined to be bumpy.
The reporter confirmed from a number of staff responsible for transporting melonhead whales to sea on the evening of the 7th that of the 6 melonhead whales that were going to be released to the sea that night, 4 were released as planned, but unfortunately, 2 were on their way to the pier. death.
With the last one left, can it return to the sea smoothly?
The body was covered with white towels, and there were two bags of ice cubes next to them. The two staff members in the water were holding each other; the breathing holes floating on the surface of the water sprayed from time to time, and sometimes the water splashed on the staff's faces... The last melon-headed whale that ran aground could not be released because of its weakness.
Mu Kai, director of the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park Institute of Biology, said that because the stranding time is relatively long, there may also be a certain degree of organ damage and stress response, which causes it to be unable to maintain its balance completely. The staff will deal with it in the water. It carries out support.
If you don't support it, you may choke water.
"24-hour full escort, change towels every 3 hours to keep the body moist and cool to prevent moisture loss on the back." Chen Peng, supervisor of the training department of Hangzhou Changqiao Polar Ocean Park, has been standing on one leg in the water for more than five hours. Step on the ladder with the other leg, making sure that the head of the melon head rests on his thigh, so that the head is not too low and choking on the water.
After spending nearly three days together, staying together for seventeen or eight hours a day, Chen Peng and other aquarium staff have developed feelings for this melonhead whale.
The staff also took local materials and made a simple "stretcher" for this melon head whale, allowing it to recuperate in a more comfortable posture while maintaining its balance.
Liu Quansheng said that the rescue team will guard the whole process and observe the physical condition of the melon-headed whale every hour, and adjust the amount of medicine on the basis of this.
"At present, its health status is not very optimistic." Mou Kai said that if it can get better through medical treatment, he will still choose a suitable place to release it to the sea, and hope that it can find groups of melonhead whales in the wild.
"There are a lot of pressures and difficulties in rescue work, but the purpose will not change, and the rescue will not stop." Liu Quansheng said that all rescuers will continue to go all out to take care of the last melon head whale staying in the temporary shelter and help at any cost. It "goes home" healthy.
The cause of the cetacean stranding is still a "mystery"
Zhang Peijun, an associate researcher at the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that it is very difficult to rescue stranded cetaceans all over the world, and the success rate is low.
At present, 12 stranded melon-headed whales have successfully released 6 of them, which is not easy.
Why did 2 melon head whales die during the transportation?
Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters interviewed a number of professionals. They said that according to the diagnosis results of the professional veterinarian team, the blood test indicators of the two melon head whales were acceptable before they were released. However, due to the limitation of the on-site testing conditions, the melon head whales The physical condition cannot be fully grasped.
"There are many uncontrollable factors, and adult wild individuals are prone to a strong stress response when they are transported." Zhang Peijun said that stranded melon-headed whales may have health problems themselves, and the probability of survival of deep-diving whales is very low once they are stranded.
With regard to the death of melon head whales during transportation, Shan Lei, PhD in ecology at Nanjing Normal University, believes that at present, he can only try to find clues from autopsy.
"We have too little knowledge of melonhead whales, and anatomy may not be able to answer the cause of the melonhead whale beaching and the cause of death in the first time."
It is understood that the 5 dead melon head whales have been frozen and stored, and will be donated to universities and scientific research institutions for scientific research.
A few days after the melon head whale ran aground, two dolphins ran aground in the waters of Ninghai, Zhejiang.
Regarding the cetacean stranding, many experts said that the reasons are complicated and there is no final conclusion.
"A problem with its own navigation system, or changes in the geomagnetic field, ocean currents, etc., may cause it to run aground." Zhang Peijun said.
"Generally speaking, cetacean stranding is usually accompanied by various signs of physical decline such as weakness and disease, but chronic diseases are rarely found in collective stranding." Lin Wenzhi, associate researcher at the Laboratory of Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics, Institute of Deep Sea, Chinese Academy of Sciences Said that it is generally believed that the factors that cause collective stranding include global warming and human activities in some areas, as well as the structure of the marine environment and the "social" behavior of cetaceans that will cause collective stranding.
"Melon head whales belong to deep-diving cetaceans. The biological research of melon head whales worldwide is very limited, and there are no successful cases of captive breeding." Mou Kai said that long-term captive breeding may interfere with their living habits. , Should be released to nature as soon as possible.
"The release is just the beginning of the return of the melonhead whales to nature. We are still unable to determine the reason why the group of melonhead whales beached and stranded. Maybe the beaching event will happen again." Shan Lei said that within a few days after the release, if the fishermen did not Only when whales are found near the sea can we say that the whales have returned to the deep sea safely.
Our reporters Wei Donghua, Xu Shunda, Lin Guangyao, Zhang Zhaoqi