2 stranded pygmy killer whales released back to sea in Cagayan

TUGUEGARAO CITY – Two pygmy killer whales were returned to sea on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 18), a day after they were stranded at a beach in Santa Ana town in Cagayan province, according to a belated report on Tuesday (Aug. 21).

Members of the Coast Guard and villagers found the male and female whales beached in Barangay (village) San Vicente, said John Henry Centeno III, the fishing regulation officer of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

After failing to coax the whales back to sea, the villagers brought the 150-kilo mammals to a BFAR facility in Sta. Ana for “de-stressing.”

The villagers brought the whales back to sea at 4 p.m. The whales had no wounds nor scratches

Centeno said whales seldom get marooned at shore unless they encounter bad weather or suffer navigation errors. Illegal fishermen could also push them towards the shore. VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.