Huang and his son, Xiao Zhi, took the plastic storage box from Zhang Zian. They didn't know what he meant.
Xiao Zhi couldn't help but say, "Uncle … no, brother, the weather is so cold, and half of its body is in the water. It must be very cold, right? We should cover its body with sand. Why do we need to water it? "
It was almost noon, and the temperature was about ten degrees Celsius. It was very comfortable for humans, but it would be a different story if it was wet and the sea breeze blew.
Xiao Zhi and Huang had already tried to push the minke whale back into the sea. Their pants were at least up to their calves. They stepped on the beach barefoot, and their toes sunk deep into the wet sand. They felt the heat flowing from the soles of their feet, and waves of coolness spread.
Huang had an idea. He nodded and said, "Yes! We should water it! The fish will die if we don't water it after it comes ashore. It's probably because it can't breathe, right? Xiao Zhi, don't just stand there. Hurry up and scoop up water. Don't you want to save this whale? "
Zhang Zian found a rock and sat down. He raised his head and squinted at the bright sun. He also started to take off his shoes and socks. He explained, "Whales are different from us. They spend most of their time in the middle layer of the sea, where the temperature is lower. They can only bask in the sun for a short period of time when they float to the surface to breathe. That's why they have a thick layer of fat to keep them warm. After being stranded on the beach, the temperature that we think is suitable for them is like extreme heat to them. Coupled with the abundant sunshine today, its grayish-black back has absorbed a lot of heat. It must be suffering from the heat now. If we don't take any measures, it might die of heat stroke before the Fishery Administration's tugboat arrives. "
As for Huang, Zhang Zian didn't point out his mistake of mistaking a whale for a fish. After all, a father's image in front of his children was very important.
Xiao Zhi suddenly understood. He quickly ran into the sea and scooped up a box full of seawater. But he overestimated his strength. He couldn't lift it up no matter how hard he tried. He had to pour half of it away, run to the minke whale, and carefully pour the water on its baleen. Obviously, he really thought his father was right. Whales breathed by their gills.
Zhang Zian and Huang also walked into the water. They scooped up water with the box and poured it on other parts of the minke whale.
It sounded easy, but in reality, it was very tiring. They had to overcome gravity to do work, lift boxes of seawater high up, and then pour it down. After a few rounds, the three of them were out of breath, and their arms were sore and aching.
After all, he was young and exercised regularly. Huang, on the other hand, was an ordinary salaryman. He usually worked during the day and educated his children at night. It had been a long time since he had participated in heavy physical labor. Soon, he was sweating profusely.
"No, I need to catch my breath." Elder Huang wiped his sweat and found a reef to sit on. He squinted his eyes at the horizon and muttered to himself, "Why aren't they here yet? They're too slow …"
He felt that a long time had passed, but in fact, not much time had passed at all. The Fishery Administration Department was not like the 110 patrol police, and their reaction time was not as fast. The staff who answered the phone might not have the authority to move the Fishery Administration boats, and they had to report to their superiors for their approval. If this went down one by one, it would take a long time. If the superiors were not around …
Xiao Zhi was also very tired, so he simply sat on the beach. As for whether he would be beaten by his mother when he got home, he did not think about it for the time being.
Zhang Zian did not rush them. They had taken the initiative to help the stranded minke whale, which was already very praiseworthy. He could not be too harsh on them. He worked alone for a while, then stopped to rest as well.
He did not sit down, because he felt that he would be too lazy to get up if he sat down. He stood next to the minke whale to catch his breath.
After being splashed with the cold water, it seemed to feel a little more comfortable. Its body relaxed, and its eyes, which had been tightly closed, opened slightly. It looked at Zhang Zian, who was very close to it.
The shape of the minke whale's eyes was very similar to that of a human's. Under its flat eyelids was a shockingly large eyeball. It was still an underage whale, but it already had heavy eye bags. A few thin and long wrinkles were shallowly distributed between the eyelids and the eye bags.
Its eyes were black and white, warm and full of luster. The bottom of the eye was white, and the pupil was black. There was also an obvious white circle in the pupil, and inside the white circle was a black pupil.
People said that whales and dolphins had intelligence that was second only to humans, and that they might even be far more intelligent than their close relatives, such as monkeys and orangutans. When he was being stared at by this eye, Zhang Zian was deeply aware of this. It was an intelligent animal, and it knew that they were helping it. Its eyes showed sincere gratitude.
This kind of feeling could only be sensed and not expressed in words. It was like being stared at by a crocodile, being stared at by a dog, being stared at by its loyalty, and being stared at by Fina, being stared at by its contempt.
Zhang Zian reached out and patted it, trying to comfort it.
There was a cold and smooth sensation on his palm, and he could also feel the slight undulations on its skin. It was like a leather sofa that felt great to the touch.
Its skin was soft and tough, and it was very elastic when pressed a little. There was at least a finger-thick layer of fat under its skin.
The sun rose higher and higher.
Zhang Zian regained some of his strength and started to scoop water from the plastic storage box. He was seriously thinking about whether or not he should call Wang Qian and Li Kun, the two strong laborers, to do this hard work.
Xiao Zhi and Huang rested for a slightly longer time. After they had rested enough, they continued to scoop water. Huang looked into the distance every time he scooped water. He was eagerly waiting for the Fishery Administration's boat to come over. If this continued, he would feel like he was falling apart when he went to work tomorrow.
"Uncle … Brother! This whale, it's bleeding! Dad! Come over and take a look! "Xiao Zhi suddenly screamed.
Zhang Zian and Huang followed the sound and looked over. They found that there were indeed traces of blood on the beach. The blood came from the side of the minke whale's body, but because it was close to the beach, they couldn't see the specific condition of the wound.
The blood might have already seeped into the sand, and because of the continuous flushing, the sand was saturated with water, so it seeped out again.
"No wonder it's stranded. It's because it's injured," Zhang Zian said in a low voice.
It was very common for whales to get stranded and die on the beach. There were many cases every year, and similar situations had happened to different kinds of whales all over the world. The causes of beaching were very complicated. Other than a small number of beached whales due to injuries, there was no obvious reason for most cases. Some people said they got lost, some said it was an accident, and some said it was sonar interference. There were even cases of whales collectively rushing onto the beach to commit suicide.
The reason this minke whale got stranded was probably because it was injured, and it lost its mind due to the pain. It swam around without any sense of direction, and finally rushed onto the beach and got stranded. Of course, this was just speculation. The real reason could only be asked by the whale itself, but it couldn't speak.
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