A huge rescue operation has been launched at the Eden beach of Palaio Faliro in south Athens since early Friday morning to save the life of an injured and sick mammal.
The whale appeared in the swallow waters of Batis part of the beach early Friday morning. It looks as if the young mammal is sick or injured and its life is in imminent danger. The Coast Guard and rescue volunteers from marine NGOs have rushed to offer aid to the animal.
The whale was spotted in the small bays of Vouliagmeni, -south-east Attica, on Thursday and it is suggested it has been traveling from the water of the Evia Gulf into the Saronic.
The mammal has been injured in the muzzle and its body and professor for Marine Biology Koutsoubas did not rule out that it was hit by a boat propeller.
Blood samples have been taken and the prognosis is reportedly not good.
Short after 11 o’ clock volunteers from the connected the animal to fluids and brought it almost to the shore.
Experts see the survival chances for the mammal as very thin.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Alexandros Frantzis, scientific director of the “Pelagos” Cetacean Research Institute, said that survival chances as small.
Mammals usually come to swallow waters “when they are already seriously ill,” he said adding that the animal has been starving as well.
Frantzis clarified that the mammal belongs to the protected species called “zifios” adding it is not a whale but a cetacean aquatic mammal. The species lives in Greek waters since thousands of years.
Video: early Friday morning
The Mayor of Palaio Faliro told ERT short before 12 noon that antibiotics and other drugs have been administered but that the mammal has not been responding.
The rescue operation continues
via newsbeast.gr
A volunteer of the marine life NGO “Lifeguard Hellas” told ERT that they are now waiting for another drug to be administered and for the time being they are monitoring the mammal breaths…
