'I will never forget the look on its face': Quick-thinking holidaymakers save a pod of ten pilot whales, including a baby, after they were washed onto a beach in Lanzarote

  • The incredible scenes took place on Las Coloradas beach in Lanzarote
  • Tourists splashed the beached pilot whales with water to keep them wet 
  • Then urged the animals to leave the shoreline by swimming next to them

By Rory Tingle For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

These quick-thinking holidaymakers saved a pod of beached whales by swimming alongside them back out to sea. 

The dramatic scenes took place on the Las Coloradas beach in the south of Lanzarote, one of the popular Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa.

Footage filmed by diver Natasha Maksymenko from the local Rubicon Diving Centre show the group of about ten short-finned pilot whales being washed up.

These quick-thinking holidaymakers saved a pod of beached whales by swimming alongside them back out to sea

These quick-thinking holidaymakers saved a pod of beached whales by swimming alongside them back out to sea

The dramatic scenes took place on the Las Coloradas beach in the south of Lanzarote, one of the popular Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa

The dramatic scenes took place on the Las Coloradas beach in the south of Lanzarote, one of the popular Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa

The whales were caught in shallow water as they struggled to get out of the sand. 

Bathers and passers-by can all be seen standing by the shore and trying to help them go back out to sea.

Maksymenko described the experience on social media saying: 'At the beginning people were too scared to go in the water, but later when they saw we were in the water they were encouraged and we saved them all.

'Personally, I am proud to have had the opportunity to do this and very emotional to have saved a baby pilot whale with my own hands, I will never forget the look on its face.'

Bathers and passers-by can all be seen standing by the shore and trying to help them go back out to sea

Bathers and passers-by can all be seen standing by the shore and trying to help them go back out to sea

 Together, the people wade into the water and splash the small whales with water to keep them wet all the while trying to urge them to swim away from the shore

 Together, the people wade into the water and splash the small whales with water to keep them wet all the while trying to urge them to swim away from the shore

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