The Department of Environmental Affairs - Oceans and Coasts confirmed that a marksman had to return to a whale that beached in Great Brak River on Monday, a second time round, before the animal was in fact euthanized.
Members of the public and Pinnacle Conservation attempted on Monday to help the humpback whale back into the water but the animal could not be successfully refloated.
The spokesperson for the Department Oceans and Coasts, Zolile Nqayi confirmed that the department contacted a big game hunter to put down the animal by using a high calibre rifle.
According to Nqayi three shots were fired 10cm behind the whale’s blow hole.
He told Algoa FM News that the conditions on the day were extremely difficult with rain and a large swell. Nqayi said the marksman believed that the whale was dead as it had stopped breathing and that it was allegedly impossible to assess the state of the animal any other way than by respiration.
Later in the afternoon a passerby however realised that the whale was not yet dead and four more shots had to be fired to the animal’s brain by torch light. Nqayi stressed that under the conditions the best possible attempts were taken to euthanize the whale. The animal will be cut up in pieces on Thursday or Friday after which it will be buried.
