Rescued whale in poor condition dies

A melon-headed whale that was rescued with other whales after being stranded in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, died on Wednesday morning.

On July 6, 12 melon-headed whales — a Level-II protected species in China — were stranded in the shallow water of a shoal in Linhai, Taizhou. As of July 11, six of those animals had been released into the sea, and another five had died.

The last one, which was in poor health, was being kept at a fish farm in Linhai. It was transferred to Taizhou Ocean World for treatment on July 22.

"It was able to eat by itself when it was sent here, but it was in a dangerous state due to its poor physical condition," a staff member at Taizhou Ocean World said.

The remains of the five melon-headed whales that died earlier have been donated to five different organizations for scientific research, Chinanews.com reported.