Rescue staff will keep watch on a stranded whale at Palm Beach till first light
SEE how the drama unfolded yesterday as Seaworld marine crews battled to save a stranded juvenile whale’s life at Palm Beach.
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UPDATE: 9.45PM: RESCUERS will stay on watch during the night over a whale stranded on a Gold Coast beach.
Staff from Sea World Gold Coast and government agency the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection are at the scene on Palm Beach and regularly reassessing the situation.
Earlier tonight, Sea World marine sciences director Trevor Long told media they were still trying to fathom how it got beached: “It may be that it’s young and inexperienced and came in too close and got beached.”
UPDATE: 5.40PM: MEMBERS of the crowd at a stranded whale drama on Palm Beach have broken a cordon and dived into the water to try and save it.
More than 20 people have been filmed in the water trying to push the junior humpback back out to sea - it comes immediately after Sea World Gold Coast staff called the rescue effort off for the day, deeming it too dangerous to continue in fading light.
Official rescue staff had to bail on attempts to refloat the whale earlier in the day when they came close to being crushed when it rolled.
The Gold Coast Bulletin understands the crowd has managed to turn the whale around so it is now facing back towards the beach - reversing Sea World efforts from earlier today.
The group of rogue would-be rescuers were now out of the water, a Bulletin reporter at the scene said.
UPDATE 5PM: THE attempted rescue of a whale stranded on Palm Beach has been called off for the day - almost 24 hours since authorities were first alerted to it.
The decision comes after attempts began at first light today to refloat the whale - it’s so far resulted in a snapped tow rope and failed plan using diggers to excavate around the junior humpback.
At one point this afternoon the whale broke free from rescuers in deeper water but got stuck on sandbar.
UPDATE 4.15PM: SEAWORLD says the stranded whale at Palm Beach is now in a spot where it is safe for rescue crews to attach the harness.
Once it is attached, the whale will be towed out to sea where it will hopefully swim free.
The whale broke free from rescuers and was in deeper water but became stuck on a sandbar after a marathon effort to keep it alive.
Rescuers had to work overtime to right the stranded whale after it flipped upside down in the shallows at Palm Beach just as a second rescue effort got underway.
It was quickly righted and is now in deep enough water to slap its tail and move its flippers.
But just as it started to move off, to the applause of 250 people gathered at the scene, it hit another obstacle ... a sandbar.
@GCBulletin getting the harness ready #comeonwhale pic.twitter.com/ptrehlhiSG
— Emily Macdonald (@emilymac_gc) July 9, 2014Gold Coast Bulletin reporter Mackenzie Ravn, on the scene, says the whale has moved further out but has been told by rescuers it is stuck on a sandbar.
They say it is now a ‘watch and wait’ situation.
The whale is upright but the water is too deep to send rescuers.
Whale is upright, facing out to sea and breathing. But the water is too deep to safely send rescuers in to help pic.twitter.com/x5jKJ7tXdP
— Mackenzie Ravn (@mackenzieravn) July 9, 2014EARLIER: A desperate race to save a juvenile whale stranded on Palm Beach is underway with the tide rising faster than expected.
The young whale is now in water after three excavators were used to dig a trench leading out to sea.
The crowd applauded rescue crews after they successfully rolled the whale back over after it rolled onto its back.
The whale was upside down for less than a minute.
A new rope for the rescue harness has arrived and is being prepared along with the harness while crews wait for the Sea World boat to arrive.
A shelter covering the whale has been taken down in preparation for the rescue attempt which will happen as soon as the tide rises enough.
Waves have caused the whale to shift position slightly and the animal can be heard making noises occasionally.
Rescue workers are continuing their attempts to move the whale so that it’s head is facing out to sea.
Sea World marine sciences director Trevor Long has just left Sea World on a boat to help with the rescue.
He is due to arrive at Palm Beach in about 30 minutes and Gold Coast City Council have been asked to send a jet ski.
Stranded whale has just rolled in the rising seas. Sea World frantically trying to flip it back over @9NewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/qMtCw3rnu5
— Nine News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) July 9, 2014The tide is coming in fast this afternoon as crews keep working hard to free the whale pic.twitter.com/GASntRyqFC
— Mackenzie Ravn (@mackenzieravn) July 9, 2014The jet ski will be used to take a rope connected to the rescue harness out to the Sea World boat.
Former ironman Trevor Hendy, who was heavily involved in attempts to rescue the whale last night, has returned to the beach this afternoon with his wife Jo to watch the rescue continue.
Mr Hendy said he was overwhelmed by the crowd on the beach and the public’s support for the teams working to free the whale.
“We’ve come back down now to have a look and we want to cheer the whale on when it gets out,” he said.
“I definitely think it will get free just by the number of people here supporting the effort.
“People are so busy they often don’t stop to appreciate these amazing animals until they need help but every single person on the beach would be down there helping if they could.”
Seaworld Marine Sciences director Trevor Long calmed an increasingly agitated crowd of 250 people by explaining, over a megaphone, why they had to wait.
Rescuers are expected to strap a harness to the whale and attempt to tow it back out to sea.
It is the same method used in the failed attempts this morning but it is hoped the deep trenches will provide an easy channel to pull the whale out from.
The whale is breathing and seems calm, but marine staff have sent off blood samples for testing to confirm its health.
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11.20AM: EXCAVATORS have arrived at Palm Beach to dredge around a juvenile whale stranded on the sand as the rescue mission enters its 17th hour.
The whale has been stranded on Palm Beach since about 6pm last night, all attempts to rescue the 10m mammal have so far failed.
The excavator is now digging sand from around the whale’s head and a second one has arrived.
DELICATE RESCUE CONTINUES TO SAVE YOUNG WHALE BEACHED
Crews are now focusing on keeping the animal healthy until high tide late this afternoon, but Seaworld director of marine science Trevor Long said excavators were needed to ensure a successful rescue.
Premier Campbell Newman has pledged ‘we’ll get them whatever they need to rescue this whale’.
“Excavators will ensure we can dredge around the whale, giving us the best chance of getting it into deeper water successfully when the tide comes in,” he said.
Crews are doing all they can to keep the young animal comfortable with large marquees, wet towels and comforting words.
Escavator has arrived to help rescue the whale http://t.co/5nzAwHSmVi pic.twitter.com/8zdCrb4LXz
— Shaya Laughlin (@shayalaughlin) July 9, 2014A large crowd remains on the beach and tensions are running high, with many people agitated that the animal is still stranded.
Mr Long said it was disappointing that rescue crews had to cop abuse as “we are all working for the same cause”.
Meanwhile in an attempt to appease the crowd Mr Long is using a lifeguard megaphone to address the public gathered on the beach and is answering individual questions.
UPDATE: AN increasingly agitated crowd is yelling at Seaworld rescuers saying they are not doing enough to save a young whale stranded on Palm Beach.
About 30 people in the crowd of 200, which includes youngsters on school holidays, are threatening to call police after a rescue mission was aborted this morning following three failed attempts.
The young whale will now remain stranded until they can launch another rescue at high tide around 5pm this afternoon.
A shelter has been erected above the whale and rescuers are pouring water over the beached animal but concerned onlookers, including Sea Shepherd members, say they are not doing enough.
Gold Coast Bulletin reporter Shaya Laughlin, who is on the scene, said people were yelling at the rescuers, many saying the whale’s mouth is filling with sand.
A National Parks officer has also threatened to call police on a woman who breached the cordoned off area in a bid to have her concerns heard.
The young whale will remain stranded at Palm Beach all day after three attempts to tow it out to sea this morning failed.
Crowd getting agitated for stranded whale #goldcoast http://t.co/5nzAwHSmVi pic.twitter.com/t9vdQs7YfU
— Shaya Laughlin (@shayalaughlin) July 8, 2014Seaworld marine staff tried to rescue the whale by strapping a harness around it and towing it at first light this morning but the rope snapped three times.
Rescuers will now have to wait until high tide at about 5pm this afternoon to try and refloat the whale.
Seaworld marine animal supervisor Tacha Mulligan said rescuers were confident the juvenile whale would be freed and they would continue to monitor its health.
Sea World taking care of the stranded whale with shade and buckets of water #goldcoast pic.twitter.com/2W3RwBbN8r
— Shaya Laughlin (@shayalaughlin) July 8, 2014Wet blankets have been put over it to keep it cool and rescuers are throwing buckets of water over the mammal.
“We are very experienced in these types of rescues, we do know how to handle it,” she said.
“When you do have an animal of this size, safety is a top priority.”
She said it was unclear how the whale, estimated to be aged between two and five years, became stranded.
“This animal, we’re looking at probably 15 to 20 tonnes,” she said.
“So it’s a very large animal to get off the beach.
“It’s doing very well considering it’s up on the beach.
“We’re doing behaviour monitoring ... we’ve taken medical samples from this animal to try and assess what sort of health condition it is in.”
Ms Mulligan said the rescue is a delicate operation but thanked the public for their cooperation.
“These animals are huge, they have an excellent flexibility ratio, they can move their flippers around which are bony structures and they can certainly cause injury to those who aren’t trained in these types of rescues,” she said.
“Everyone has been very good, everyone has been keeping behind the quarters and we very much appreciate that.”
The young whale survived the night after it became beached about 7pm last night with a large group of up to 70 people instantly jumping to its aid.
Former Ironman Trevor Hendy was among those trying to push the whale back out to sea.
BABY WHALE STRANDED AT PALM BEACH
But darkness and a low tide hampered the group’s efforts and Seaworld staff have monitored the whale overnight before beginning a delicate rescue effort at first light.
The Seaworld boat arrived at the beach before sunrise and staff planned to use a rope and boat to tow the creature back to deeper water.
About 200 people watching rescuers at work with beached whale #goldcoast pic.twitter.com/0kAeYYh9uu
— Shaya Laughlin (@shayalaughlin) July 8, 2014Seaworld staff have confirmed it is not the same whale which became stuck at Byron Bay earlier yesterday.
They told media on the scene that the whale is in good condition despite its overnight trauma and they were hopeful for a successful rescue with daylight and a higher tide on their side.
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