Those who worked in the cold water to return the orcas back to the ocean were mostly volunteers – some were lifeguards, firefighters, and marine biologists. Some showed up in wetsuits, while others simply came to help with the clothes on their back.
They used a combination of ropes, shovels, buckets, and manpower to maneuver the three to four-ton mammals back into the water. And when one of them found their way back onto shore after it was set free, they repeated the process.
“We were the first to arrive with some neighbors. The first thing that was done was to try the two smaller ones,” Vanesa, a rescuer, told La Nación. They were juveniles, and one of them gave double work: he gained meters at sea and ran aground again.”
“I never thought about the cold or the effort, I just wanted to return them to the sea,” Andrés Ersinger, another rescuer, said.
While the volunteers were able to save six of the beached killer whales, one died on the shore.
Officials are unsure why the orcas ended up on the beach, especially because they showed no signs of illness.
“There may be many, they may have lost their route,” Alejandro Saubidet, scientific director of Aquarium Mar del Plata, said. “They may also have gone after food.”
Let’s hear for these kind people who took time out of their day to rescue these beautiful creatures!
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