4月19日上午8点左右，一头抹香鲸在宁波市象山县一片海域附近搁浅。
▲ 搁浅在宁波象山石浦海域的鲸。图源象山县传媒中心
经过长达20个小时的接力救援后，4月20日5时30分左右，在渔政船的牵引和护航下，搁浅的抹香鲸被拖拽到水深28米的区域，恢复自主下潜的能力，自主游回深海，实现脱困。
A 19-meter sperm whale has been rescued from the shores of Xiangshan county in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Wednesday, after becoming beached during low tide.
据当地媒体报道，在象山县石浦镇铜瓦门大桥外，半边山海域附近，当地渔民发现了这头搁浅的抹香鲸并联系了当地渔业部门，随后象山县海洋与渔业执法大队队员紧急赶到现场，象山相关部门派出五艘船进行救援。
The stranded whale was first noticed by fishermen who put in calls to local authorities to draw their attention to the plight of the great mammal.
宁波市鱼人水生野生动物救援中心、公安部门和渔业执法部门的工作人员组成了一支200人的救援队伍前往当地救援。
A 200-person rescue team was assembled consisting of staff from the Ningbo Yuren Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Center, public security department and fishery law enforcement.
由于19日上午10点后石浦港开始退潮，营救行动愈发困难。
救援团队需要为鲸体提供水源，并确保呼吸气孔不被堵塞，直到涨潮。
In order to facilitate the whale's rescue, the team needed to keep it alive until high tide by ensuring it was covered with water and its blowhole was not obstructed.
参与救治的宁波海洋世界馆医育部长王致远介绍说，“救援人员不断为鲸泼水，因为鲸体表就像是盖了一个大棉被，经过一天的日晒容易脱皮，泼水能帮助鲸降温，保持体表湿润。我们为它清洗伤口，注射药物，都是在维持它的生命体征，也是在为后续工作的开展做准备。”
19日下午4点40分左右，海水开始涨潮，水面高度达到消防员的膝盖处。为了确保救援人员的安全，现场开始进行清场工作。
涨潮时，救援人员用绳子将这头重达数吨的鲸鱼系在救援船上，然后轻轻地把它拉回大海。
At high tide, the whale, which weighed multiple tons, was connected by rope to several boats where it was gently pulled back into the sea.
救援人员表示，在这个过程中，抹香鲸状态良好，时不时朝救援船只“摇头摆尾”。
午夜时分，这头抹香鲸已经游到距海平面九米深的海域。
By midnight, the whale was at a depth offshore of nine meters.
救援人员说道，这种体型的抹香鲸安全水深应该超过20米。
The safe water depth for whales of this size should be deeper than 20 meters, according to a rescuer.
20日上午5时49分，经过21个小时的救援，抹香鲸终于返回大海。
The rescue operation ended at 5:49 am on Wednesday after 21 hours.
宁波鱼人水生野生动物救护中心的工作人员王亮亮说，“营救搁浅鲸鱼绝对是我职业生涯中最难忘的经历。”
"Rescuing a stranded whale is definitely the most impressive experience of my career," said Wang Liangliang, a staff member from the Ningbo Yuren rescue center.
抹香鲸是最大的齿鲸，也是世界上最大的有齿捕食者。它是唯一活着的抹香鲸属成员，是抹香鲸家族现存的三个物种之一，另外两个是小抹香鲸和侏儒抹香鲸。
The sperm whale is the largest of the toothed whales and the world's largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale.
▲ 抹香鲸。图源：东方IC
“看着这样一个巨大的哺乳动物平稳、安全地呼吸，消失在大海中，让我为自己的工作感到自豪，”王亮亮说。
"Watching such a giant mammal breathe smoothly and safely, disappearing into the sea made me feel so proud of my work," Wang said.
南京师范大学教授、鲸类研究专家陈炳耀表示，“搁浅的抹香鲸经历长时间搁浅、挣扎，体力消耗很大，内脏也会受自身体重压迫而受损，皮肤暴露缺失水分，呼吸孔内可能会灌入一些水中的泥沙等等，损伤会比较大，如果不及时救援，最终可能死亡。
陈教授称，鲸死后也有可能会发生“鲸爆”，所谓“鲸爆”是指死亡后的鲸体内因蓄积了过多腐败气体而形成的尸体爆炸，“鲸爆通常发生在鲸鱼死后十几个小时，所以需要做好鲸鱼善后工作。”
陈教授向记者介绍道，关于鲸搁浅的原因有很多，个体搁浅可能是因为鲸自身的生理状况或者内在疾病，除此之外，外在的一些环境因素同样会导致鲸搁浅，比如水下巨大的噪音干扰鲸的声呐、太阳风暴引起的磁力变化等等。
搁浅后的鲸躯体在水面和空气中暴露，体温骤降，是加速其死亡的主要原因。
另外，鲸搁浅在沙滩上时，由于躯体庞大且长时间得不到海水的浮力作用，会造成身体脏器受到压损，加速死亡。
据当地媒体报道，浙江海洋大学水生野生动物专家赵胜龙表示，近年来，浙江沿海地区曾多次发生鲸鱼搁浅事件。
In a group interview with local media, Zhao Shenglong, an aquatic wildlife expert from Zhejiang Ocean University, said the coastal areas in Zhejiang province have had whale strandings several times in recent years.
截至去年7月，搁浅在浙江海岸的12头瓜头鲸中有9头成功获救。
In July 2021, nine of the 12 melon-headed whales stranded on Zhejiang's coast were rescued.
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