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After 100+ Pilot Whales Get Stranded on Beach, Sri Lankans Mount Epic Rescue – by Malaka Rodrigo Source:Science Panadura, Sri Lanka: Volunteers in Sri Lanka defied the ongoing COVID-19 second wave to join a mammoth overnight rescue effort to push more than 100 stranded pilot whales back into the sea. At least five whales were reported to have died despite the efforts. The whales beached in the southwestern town of Panadura, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Colombo, on November 2. Local fishers first noticed the unusual scene at around 1:30 p.m. “They first appeared as a dark patch in the horizon and kept on moving toward the shore like a giant wave,” said fisherman Upul Ranjith. “We tried to push them back to the sea, but they kept returning to the beach as if they wished to commit suicide.” ...