An adult False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) stranded in Brgay Binuclutan, Botolan, Zambales last February 21. PMMSN region 3 team (BFAR 3, Zambales PAO, MAO, Bantay Dagat, Coast Guard, and barangay officials) stabilized the animal until it regained its buoyancy and strength yesterday late afternoon. The animal was released this morning. The team and the community are still monitoring the coast in case this animal restrands.

23rd February 2016;

A wounded False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) that was stranded along the shoreline of Botolan town in Zambales last weekend was released back into the sea on Tuesday morning.

The 12-foot-long female False Killer Whale appeared "weak and traumatized" when the residents found it in Barangay (village) Porac on Sunday afternoon, said Dr. Liezel Monido, veterinary at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Cental Luzon.

"The Whale washed up on the shoreline because it lost its echolocation probably due to blast fishing," Monido told the Inquirer by phone.

Echolocation refers to a special sense that allows Whales to navigate in turbid water and into the darkest depths of the sea.

Monido said the 500 kilogram Whale could have also been trapped in a fish net because of the net marks found on its body.

"The Whale also sustained small shark bites but these are all minor wounds," Monido said.

Rescue workers from BFAR, the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the local Bantay Dagat (Sea Watch) worked overnight to treat the Whale at a rehabilitation site in nearby Barangay Binoclutan, she said.

"The Whale has not completely lost its buoyancy and is now very healthy. Our Bantay Dagat volunteers escorted it as it was released back into the sea this morning," Monido said.

By Allan Macatuno, 22nd February 2016;

Another Whale was found stranded at the shoreline of Zambales province on Sunday (Feb. 21) afternoon, according to the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network (PMMSN).

A 12-foot-long False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) was washed up along the coastline of Barangay Porac in Botolan town about 5 p.m., said Lem Aragones, president of PMMSN.

"The Whale was weak and could not maintain its buoyancy when the villagers found it," Aragones told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by telephone on Monday (Feb. 22).

Aragones said a team from the PMMSN was dispatched to the area to rehabilitate the stranded whale.

"As of this time, we can't tell the prognosis since we have yet to take a blood sample from the whale," Aragones said.

On Saturday (Feb. 20), a dead Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was found in the waters off the coastal town of Candeleria, Zambales.

Residents of Barangay Dampay discovered the carcass of the whale floating some 100 kilometers from the coastline at 9 a.m.