A false killer whale beached in Mandurah then returned to the water got into trouble on shore again on Tuesday, with Department of Parks and Wildlife officers leading a second rescue operation.
The whale had beached at Falcon on Monday and after attempts to get it back into the water failed, passersby assisted in moving it to a trailer.
A three-metre female, likely an older juvenile possibly approaching a tonne in weight, took 12 people to lift. Police provided an escort to Dawesville Marina where it was taken in a sling on the side of a Fisheries vessel through Dawesville Cut, released and seen swimming away.
But on Tuesday the same whale was discovered stranded at Point Grey near Mandurah Estuary, identified through markings on its head.
Again with the assistance of the Department of Fisheries and a vet from Perth Zoo, rangers loaded the three-metre female back into a sling on the side of a boat and set out to release it into deeper water.
"Today we were lucky we could get the sling in the water to take some of the weight," marine park coordinator Melissa Evans said.
"Being an oceanic species they do usually live far offshore where it's deeper, so yesterday's attempt probably didn't get it far enough out so it's become disoriented in that shallower water and re-beached.
"It was extremely rough so not ideal, but we went out as far as we could without her being too uncomfortable. We gave it our best shot.
"We did not re-sight it afterwards but it did swim away from the sling. It is quite rough and it's now not in pristine condition so there is a risk of it re-stranding for a third time."
She encouraged the public to keep an eye out in the area and call the wildcare helpline if they saw it again near or on the beach.
If it re-beached, it was critically important to cover the whale with wet sheets or towels, give it shade if possible, and continue bucketing water over it as volunteers had done on Monday and Tuesday.
"These animals do breathe air so if you can keep them upright and cool and keep blowhole clear of obstructions you can keep the stress down," she said.
Marine rangers have had a busy few days in WA - on Sunday officers rescued a dolphin stranded in the shallows at Princess Royal Harbour in Albany, successfully releasing it into safer waters nearby.
Unusual job today @TEG1Peel Emergency escort of a beached whale from Falcon to Dawesville #freewilly
