Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers and Sea World experts have successfully refloated a 10 metre humpback whale following a mammoth two-day operation off the coast of Hervey Bay.
On Sunday afternoon (14 July 2024), QPWS received a report of a stranded whale on the Dayman spit sandbank in the Great Sandy Marine Park.
Rangers assessed the whale and found it to be in good condition but unable to free itself from the sand.
Over the next two days, while the tide improved, QPWS and Sea World crews continued to assess the animal and encourage it to turn and move forward, with the aim of allowing the whale to free itself once the water was deep enough.
To keep the animal calm, they applied wet sheets to the whale's exposed back to prevent sunburn and ensured members of the public stayed away.
Yesterday afternoon, additional marine mammal specialists from Sea World joined the response, and shark spotters were put in place as a three metre tiger shark had been seen nearby.
While working from vessels to attach towlines to the whale, the large animal finally moved itself across the bank and into deeper waters.
The team monitored the whale to ensure it continued to swim out to sea and by 4pm it was swimming freely with no signs of injury or distress.
QPWS Senior Ranger Mike Carr said successfully refloating stranded humpbacks is rare, but always a great outcome.
"Whale strandings happen for lots of reasons, often because the animal is sick or injured, but sometimes it is a result of misadventure and there is a chance that the whale can be rescued," Ranger Carr said.
"Handling an animal as big as a humpback isn't easy, and they can become distressed quickly making refloating attempts challenging. We also need to navigate the environment including tides and sharks.
"Watching the whale swim away yesterday is a testament to the fantastic work by rangers and Sea World crews. After a long two days, we couldn't have asked for a better result."
Sea World Head of Marine Sciences Wayne Phillips said this was an amazing outcome for this whale and a credit to the commitment of all involved.
"While monitoring the whale and providing first-aid, we worked closely with QPWS team to develop a plan to refloat the whale on the high tide on Tuesday afternoon," Mr Phillips said.
"The plans were altered after the sighting of the tiger shark, with the teams working from the boats to deploy the slings, and this activity seemed to encourage the whale to gather enough momentum to move off the sandbank into deeper waters.
"These rescue operations are logistically challenging, and between our team and the QPWS rangers we had four vessels working around the whale with a team of 20 using specialised equipment and it was fantastic to see this animal swim off to continue its migration."
To report marine animal strandings of sick, injured or dead turtles, dolphin, dugongs or whales, call the 1300 130 372.
