A stranded whale on Playa Baracoa is being assisted by local residents.

A Cuvier's whale or calf -also known as a ziphius- stranded this Thursday at Baracoa Beach, in the province of Artemisa, and was assisted by locals who were apparently trying to return it to deep waters, where this type of cetacean resides.

In a captivating and extraordinary show, early in the morning the beautiful animal surprised residents with its presence on the coast, very close to the shore, where it struggled to stay afloat due to the shallow depth, as seen in videos shared on social media.

After the whale was sighted around eight in the morning, dozens of residents of Playa Baracoa gathered in the area to see it up close and, of course, to take photographic evidence of the impressive and unusual event.

In one of the videos, four men attend to the whale, perhaps to help it return to the depths of the sea, although it has not been revealed if they were able to achieve that.

The appearance of the calf along the coastline of the northern Cuban locality could be due to a tidal drop; but it could also have been swept in by the current or got disoriented and accidentally arrived in shallower waters.

An article published by National Geographic explains some of the reasons why whales may strand on the coasts.

Dan Jarvis, in charge of welfare development and on-the-ground support for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, told NG that “a stranded whale can be sick or injured, senile, lost, unable to feed itself, have some other deficiency — for example, a difficult birth — or simply be old.”

The specimen spotted this Thursday at Playa Baracoa is a Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), a species of toothed cetacean of the family Ziphidae.

The ziphiids, of which 21 species have been described, are characterized by having a pronounced snout. The etymology of their name comes from the Greek xiphos (sword), so ziphio literally means whale with a sword-like nose, notes an entry in the online popular encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Ziphiids are one of the least known groups of mammals due to their habitat in deep waters and their seemingly low numbers.

In the case of the Cuvier's beaked whale, the scientific literature describes that it has a shorter snout compared to other species of the same family. Additionally, it has an intermediate size between dolphins and whales, reaching about 6.4 meters in length and an average weight of 3,000 kg.

This marine mammal has some characteristics that resemble those of dolphins, such as the shape of the head and the elongated body.

"The 'melon' of its skull is white or cream in color. It also has a dorsal band of this color. The rest of its body varies according to the individual, from dark gray to reddish brown. The dorsal fin varies in shape and size within the species," details Wikipedia.

The Cuvier's beaked whale is the mammal that can dive to the greatest depths and stay submerged for the longest time, reaching records of 137 minutes underwater and a depth of nearly 3,000 meters, according to a study conducted by American experts.