Teenagers witnessed a baby beluga whale that had washed ashore on the St. Lawrence River in Canada while on a family vacation. Nicholas Milliard, 15, described how he and his younger brothers were able to save the animal.
Every five minutes, water was thrown in to prevent the animal from drying out. According to Milliard, “We constructed a hole so that water might collect there and nourish its skin.” The family from Quebec quickly called for help and looked after the cub until the doctors showed up.
The rescuers put the animal back in the water. There is only a slim chance that the cub will find its mother again or that a different beluga whale will feed it. Beluga whales feed and care for their young for two years; the cub cannot survive without the mother’s help.
Beluga whales formerly numbered in the tens of thousands in the St. Lawrence River; today, there are only 900 left. The reservoir pollution is to blame for this dramatic decline.
Whatever the case, the beluga whale that was saved now has a chance to live. And it’s all because of the work of caring boys.
