The Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) and their Marine Animal Rescue Network (MARN) responded immediately and headed towards the Port of Kaohsiung after a herd of disoriented pygmy killer whales was reported to MARN in the evening of Apr. 25. When the rescue team arrived, they found that three whales were dead, one was trapped and waiting for rescue, more than ten were still in the harbor, and some had moved outwards. The Kaohsiung Harbor Police Department sent a boat to assist in the observation and prevent other ships from approaching. The OCA said that pygmy killer whale is a species that often strand in southwestern Taiwan in spring. More than 200 pygmy killer whales have beached on coasts in the past two decades. On the evening of the same day last year, there were also pygmy killer whales stranded in Qijin waters in Kaohsiung. Despite days of treatment, six of the pygmy killer whales lost their lives, which were found with hearing impairment by inspection. Marine animals strand for numerous reasons, and we don’t have a conclusion on the results yet on why those whales stranded. But the pygmy killer whale tends to mass strand given its highly social nature. Until midnight, the rescue work continued. The MARN team thanked the enthusiastic people for their active assistance in rescuing dolphins with their backhoe. Most of all, we hope that healthy dolphins could return to the sea safely.