By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
PUNALU‘U — A baby humpback whale that got lost and later found its way back to the ocean hadn't returned by mid-morning to where it had beached itself, but rescuers planned to check the shoreline today just in case.
A rescue drama unfolded at Punalu‘u Beach yesterday as wildlife workers and volunteers struggled to save the young 15-foot humpback whale stranded in the reef until early evening.
Around 6:30 p.m., 15 people from the National Marine Fisheries Service and state Department of Land and Natural Resources managed to sedate the one-ton juvenile, sling it with nylon webbing and guide it out to sea.
Rescuers hope the whale doesn't get lost again.
“We don’t count our chickens before they hatch,” said Bradley Ryon, of the National Marine Fisheries Service, who coordinated the rescue. If the whale returns, the ordeal could start over again. DLNR enforcement officers planned to check the shore today.
Yesterday around 10 a.m. Dominic Aki, who was driving to the North Shore to surf, spotted the whale 30 yards offshore and watched in astonishment through pouring rain as it swam up and down the beach, “obviously in distress.” After a short while the whale surged toward shore, beaching itself and flopping onto its back in front of Chings’ Punalu‘u Store, Aki said.
Motorists took notice and some stopped to watch and help. About 15 people tried to roll the animal over and push it back into the ocean, said Dylan Thomas, 18. But the whale kept beaching itself.
Four or five times it got stuck on the nearshore reef, where some people tried to free it. Its thrashing knocked over several rescuers, but no one was hurt, Thomas said.
“After we did that a few times, we realized we couldn’t save it,” he said. “Eventually we tried to just keep it upright so it could breathe.”
Brian Emery, 18, said he saw several scrapes on the animal’s underside, apparently from the reef.
About a hundred people watched as the whale thrashed about in shallow water. Motorists slowing for a glimpse backed up traffic on Kamehameha Highway, police said.
By 11 a.m. the whale lay listlessly off the beach in about two feet of water. It floated in the water, seeming to rest.
Officers from the DLNR and National Marine Fisheries Services at the beach waiting for boats, a veterinarian and other help kept people a safe distance from the animal.
Those at the beach were anxious with anticipation. Many thought the whale eventually would head out to sea, but others weren’t sure. Richard and Mary Kerr of Illinois had stopped on a tour of the island. “It’s really sad, because he keeps coming back in,” Mary said.
Around noon the whale turned away from shore and headed out to sea, swimming back and forth along the shore as it entered deeper water. Witnesses cheered, but that soon turned to worry as the whale got hung up on the outer reef and was tossed about.
Patty Hindmanly of Punalu‘u watched through binoculars and gave an account to friends nearby. At times the whale struggled free, but was disoriented and became caught on the reef again, she said.
Joe Arceneaux of Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Island Area Office couldn’t say why the whale beached itself, but noted that other whales that have done so were sick or filled with parasites. Residents’ attempt to save the animal by pushing it back into the water probably saved its life, Arceneaux said.
“If they stay on the beach too long, they get problems with overheating and circulation problems,” he said. “Blood pools in their stomach and their weight suffocates them.”
Ryon of the fisheries service had taken charge of the effort to assess the whale’s condition and help, setting up a command post near Kaya’s Store. DLNR brought three boats, two Boston Whalers and a jet boat.
An attempt to herd the whale out around 1:45 p.m. failed.
Finally veterinarians Gregg Levine and Robert Braun sedated the animal, said Margaret Akamine Dupree, of the fisheries service. It was slung with a narrow nylon web and taken to the channel, where it swam through.
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