National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) crew have rescued a whale near the Struisbaai harbour.
On Friday, local NSRI crew received reports of what was thought to be a dolphin injured in the harbour. The crew responded and found a Layard's Beaked Whale beaching outside the harbour. The whale appeared to be weak, explains Reinard Geldenhuys, NSRI Agulhas station commander.
"Chris Wilkinson of the University of Pretoria Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit happened to be in Struisbaai at the time and he assisted on the scene attempting to corral the whale away from the shore line," says Geldenhuys.
Then, on Wilkinson's advice, NSRI rescue swimmers swam the whale through the surf line to deeper water before it was escorted by boat.
"Our sea rescue craft I&J Rescuer IV was launched and took over from the NSRI rescue swimmers in deeper water and monitored the whale at sea for some time and we are cautiously optimistic that the whale has survived," he adds.
Patrols carried out by the NSRI crew on Saturday revealed no sign of the whale, confirmed Geldenhuys.