A Southern Right whale remains stranded in shallow water at Hopetoun Channel to the west of Lakes Entrance, Gippsland Lakes. DEPI Incident Controller, Ben Rankin said the whale’s health is being constantly monitored. “It’s under a fair amount of stress due to being stranded on a sand bar,” Mr Rankin said. “A side-imaging sonar scan has shown that there are no entanglements or physical obstructions on the seabed, which is good news, but we are still trying to make the whale more comfortable, without compromising people’s safety.” “We’re consulting regularly with veterinary experts from Seaworld, NSW and Tasmania and a senior vet from Melbourne Zoo is on his way to provide advice on what can be done to help refloat the whale.” The DEPI fire boat is spraying the whale with water to keep it hydrated and to reduce stress on the animal. “We will continue to assess the options to keep the whale comfortable, keep operational staff safe and get it back to the ocean.”
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 02:41:37 +0000
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