18-meter-long fin whale rescued off Q. Roo coast
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Isla Contoy, Q.R. — An 18-meter-long/60-foot-long fin whale was rescued after being found stranded near this tiny island off the Yum Balam preserve.
The mammal was found at Faro Beach off Isla Contoy near Isla Mujeres. The mammal was spotted around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, struggling to free itself from shallow water.
Park ranger Captain Henry Medaron supervised the rescue with the help of crew on board the Columba, while staff alerted other environmental agencies.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., four boats arrived with 20 people from the Caribbean Connection, a tourist service provider, to help get the whale into deeper water.
The whale was secured with ropes and towed into a deep-water zone where it could swim out by itself toward the open sea. After 15 minutes of swimming the whale moved away from the Island.
The fin, or finback, whale is the world’s second-largest living mammal and is on the global endangered species list.
Source: La Verdad