Reaching Out

When communities come together, amazing results can be achieved.

At ten past eight in the morning on June 2 this year, the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) in Busselton, WA, received a phone call from a Geographe Bay resident reporting a sighting of a pod of false killer whales 20 metres from the beach. But within minutes excitement turned to horror as the creatures headed straight for shore.

What followed was a remarkable show of people power. CALM put out a call on local radio stations for volunteers to help the stranded mammals; it had been estimated that more than 100 false killers had beached, and at least 10 people would be needed to rescue each one. It was an enormous task, but within two hours hundreds of people had put aside work, school and chores, and flocked to the beach.

The first glimpse of scores of false killer whales spread helplessly across the sand was shocking, even for those who had seen it before. “It’s an overwhelming sight; the enormity of the task really hits you,” says Cecilia Aldridge, coordinator of WestWhales, a group that organises volunteers when beachings occur along the south-west coast of WA.

And it wasn’t just the animals that were at risk – cold, windy weather increased the risk of exposure and hypothermia for volunteers, and with worse weather forecast, time-management was crucial.

“It was important that people weren’t in the water for extended periods,” says Cecilia. “I found one guy who had been out there for three hours.” She  managed to convince him that it would be a long day, and that he’d be more use later on if he took a coffee break. “We really needed to look after each other. Community is everything in these situations.”

Volunteers also had to be warned of other risks, such as avoiding blowhole expirations which could contain harmful parasites. Additionally, when the mammals were returned to the shallows, they tended to list to one side and needed to be prevented from drowning, or from injuring their rescuers.

It was an exhausting day, but by 5pm 102 false killer whales had been returned to the bay to join the remainder of their pod, which had been kept herded out to sea by a flotilla of boats. “People cried and hugged each other; it was very emotional,” recalls Cecilia. “It’s a life-changing experience for people and it’s about more than just the whales: working together brings out the best in humans.”

By Melisande Clarke. Photography: Lee Griffith, reproduced courtesy of west australian newspapers