By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – A female short-finned pilot whale safely returned to deeper water after it was stranded in the coastal areas of Barangays Tibsoc, Nayon, and Poblacion, San Enrique, Negros Occidental last Wednesday.
In a Facebook post of Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) officer Elenita Amen, they received a call from the town’s Bantay Dagat volunteers informing them about the stranded marine mammal in the coastline of Barangay Tibsoc.
A certain Joel Macapal, a fisherman of Barangay Nayon first reported the whale sighting.
Amen said they asked the assistance of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for the identification and rescue of the marine mammal.
It has a total length of 427 cm, based on the findings of the BFAR.
Amen said that Bantay Dagat volunteers continuously monitored the whale until it found its way back to the deep part of the sea that afternoon.
Amen, meanwhile, thanked those who responded and helped protect the safety of the marine mammal.