At 3:30pm on Saturday 16^th April 2016 Police attended Boobyalla Beach near Petal Point in the states North-East in response to the report of a stranded whale.

Upon arrival at the scene Police located the whale alive and beached on its side approximately 100 metres from the water’s edge.

The whale was about 2 meters in length and was believed to be either a Dwarf or Pygmy Sperm whale due to the similar appearance of each species.

Attending Police, with the assistance of members of the public, assisted the whale to be upright and commenced care by covering it with wet towels and pouring sea water over its body.

After providing initial care to the whale, responders managed to carry the whale on a picnic blanket to the water where further palliative care was provided.

At about 5:30pm the whale swam away from the group into slack water at the Northern end of Boobyalla Beach. The whale was monitored for some time and was established to be capable of breathing and maintaining buoyancy on its own.

Police left the area at about 6pm.

Throughout the incident Police were in consult with Parks & Wildlife Whale hotline staff and volunteers who attended the scene during the morning of the next day and continued care of the whale.

Attending Police would like to extend a thank you to Mark, Anne, Elisha and Emily SUMMERS, Courtney BRADFORD, Amelia and James RANSON and Logan SALTER for their assistance at the scene.