Whale rescued at Ardmore Beach
People help a beached whale at Ardmore Beach. Credit: Water Safety Waterford.
A beached, beaked whale was rescued by kindly Samaritans at Ardmore Beach.
The whale was found in distress on the shores of the beach on Monday, August 3.
Lifeguards and swimmers thought that the animal was a dolphin at first but it was later confirmed to be a beaked whale, by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IDWG).
With the help of some onlookers, the whale was eventually turned around and swam back into the depths of the ocean. The stranded creature was in the vicinity of another adult whale and a calf.
Waterford Safety Ireland Waterford praised the lifeguards for their efforts: "Sometimes a rescue can be to help a dolphin back into the water. We had three in one day in Ardmore; all successfully sent back to sea. Well done to the lifeguards."
Ardmore Tidy Towns thanked the 'ever alert' guards on social media: "Well done to our beach lifeguards who successfully diverted an adult whale which was almost stranded at Ardmore Beach on Monday.
"The ever alert lifeguards spotted a couple of what they thought were dolphins in really shallow water at low tide on the beach and when they went to investigate they found that there were two adults and a calf in the vicinity, and one of the adults was struggling in the shallow water.
"With the help of some brave onlookers they managed with great difficulty to turn it towards the deep water and after several attempts the trio swam away towards their friends in the deep."
