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In Cow Bay, Nova Scotia, a pilot whale washed up on Rainbow Haven Beach and was spotted New Year’s Day. Unable to return to the water, the animal was in grave danger. Fortunately, thanks to a group of people who heard about the stranding, the whale gained a whole team of rescuers!

Nancy Briggs Carr spotted the whale and posted about it on Facebook. Thanks to the post, around 100 people, including police and the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS,) rushed to the site of the stranding to save the whale.

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Just a few hours later, the volunteers managed to put the animal on a pontoon and carry it into the water!

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According to Andrew Reid of MARS, the animal was likely alone due to an underlying sickness, since pilot whales are a social species and usually travel as a family. It’s also unusual for the whale to be in the region at this time, as they tend to move south into the Gulf Stream.

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Thanks to the incredible teamwork of the people who volunteered to help at the Rainbow Haven Beach, the whale is now safely back in the waters. The rescuers hope that the animal will have a chance to reunite with its family – and, hopefully, will never have a similar adventure ever again.

Whale strandings can be brought about by a number of causes, including human activity which often ends up being greatly dangerous to the species. If you ever witness a stranding, you can always report the incident to the proper regional stranding network.

All image source: Nancy Briggs Carr/Facebook