SEMPORNA: A group of rescuers were in tears of joy when a 3 ½ metre whale stranded on the coral reef of Mabul Island was successfully rescued and resurfaced twice before disappearing into the blue ocean.
The event took place at 9 am when the whale was first spotted. Resort manager Carys Fox of Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort, who led whale rescue said: ‘It was like the whale knew that we were trying to save her. She was flapping around in distress in the shallow water but when we arrived she calmed down and let us put the life jackets around her as buoyancy and carried toward deeper water”.
Resort staff, visiting tourists and the local community from Mabul work together and took only 25 minutes of rescue effort before the whale swam away. Scuba Junkie Marine Biologist, Ric Owen assures that the cuts are all superficial and should heal quickly however could not exactly point out the type of species and are currently waiting for confirmation from whale experts. For now, divers are suggesting that she may either be a pilot whale or the rare pygmy sperm whale.
Semporna District Officer, Encik Ibnu AK Baba express his congratulation and thanks to the diving and local community in Mabul, he also hopes that this experience lead towards better collaborative management and protection of marine conservation including whales and sharks since semporna is not only a major diving destination but also within the area of coral triangle initiative
