Melon-Headed Whale Dies Despite Rescue Efforts on Trinidad Beach [VIDEO]

A rare melon-headed whale stranded on the eastern coast of the Caribbean island of Trinidad Friday morning, despite repeated rescue attempts to return the young whale to safety.

The whales known s many-toothed blackfish or electra dolphin, are rarely seen by people as they typically swim in deep waters and feed mostly on squids. According to local game wardens, this particular melon-headed whale most likely swam to shore because it was suffering some type of distress.

The 7-foot creature was first spotted on Manzanilla beach late Thursday.

Local Forestry Division launched a rescue mission for the distressed melon-headed whale that lasted throughout Thursday into Friday. They tried to send the whale back into the water, however it kept returning back to the beach.

Despite all the efforts the melon-headed whale died shortly after midnight on Friday.

Game warden Pretam Khemraj told the Trinidad Express that he and coworkers waded out in rough seas to take the whale back out. They also poured water on the whale to moisten its skin.

"We tried to return the whale to sea, but it kept swimming back to shore," he said.

Game warden Jack Kisto also said that the whale's instincts kept it from staying out at sea.

"These whales travel in groups and if they get separated from the group, they tend to head to shore. Or when they are sick and feel like they might be about to die, they also head to shore," he said.

The whales are called melon-headed which is from their rounded cone-like shape of their skulls. The carcass was taken to University of the West Indies School of Veterinary Medicine at the Mt. Hope hospital where a necropsy is planned.

Below is a video of the melon-headed whales swimming in their natural habitat.

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