DAVAO CITY - A 12-foot whale was beached by the Seawall in Bucana, Davao City on Tuesday.
Fisherman Guiller Corpin first spotted the whale at 9:10 a.m. He said he saw nearly ten other whales above the waters at that time. One turned out to be weaker than the rest and was stranded.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, which helped return the whale to deeper waters, identified the mammal as a 12-foot male Blainville beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) weighing around 800 kilos.
Also helping in the rescue was D’Bone Collector Museum owner Darrell Blatchley, who has his museum nearby.
Barangay 76-A official Rolando Trajera said they often see the sea creatures in their waters and enjoy watching them.
"Di lamang ni karon nakita sa mga molupyo. Daghan na nga higayon, malingaw gyud ang mga residente pag makita ni nila nga mo-ambak-ambak diha sa lawod, pero di man nila hilabtan (They have been spotted many times and the residents have fun watching them and don't bother the whales)," Trajera said Tuesday.
Male Blainville’s is easy to identify because of two large tusk-like teeth that stick out from the middle of their lower jaws.
They are deep-water species that are found in tropical and temperate waters that are at least 1,600 feet deep all over the world.
Blainville’s beaked whales are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, but their conservation status is “data deficient” because they have not been studied well given their deep-water preference.
