දින 145කින් යළිත් නිල් සයුරට ගිය හයිටං

Rescued short-finned whale successfully released in Hainan

A short-finned pilot whale was released into the ocean on Sunday, 145 days after being rescued, with the help of more than ten volunteers, breeders, coast guards, and crew members in south China's island province of Hainan.

With a splash, the recovered whale, named Haitang after the bay where it was found beached, plunged back into the ocean.

The male whale was found injured and stranded in the Haitang Bay of Sanya City, the southernmost tip of Hainan province, on January 3rd by tourists who immediately called the police. Shortly after that, it was transported to the Haichang Animal Conservation Center.

At the time, Haitang was very weak, bearing lots of bruises, and unable to swim on its own. It also suffered from a severe pulmonary infection, dehydration, and liver and kidney failure.

"At first, the whale couldn't float and swim on its own. Therefore, volunteers and staff had to support it underwater to protect it from drowning 24 hours a day," said Cao Zheng, head of the Animal Breeding Division of Haichang Animal Conservation Center in Sanya.

Haitang received good treatment and care at the center and gradually recovered. It was also taught how to prey independently and recognize other members of its own species to survive in the wild.

Early this month, experts from institutions such as the Sanya Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences agreed that the whale had already met the requirements for release into the wild after thorough checks and discussion.

"The result of our assessment is that the whale could be released," said Yan Guoqi, deputy director of the Sanya Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

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