A whale approached the shore in Baracoa, Guantánamo province, and is presumed to be stranded. Dozens of locals gathered at the scene to closely observe the impressive cetacean.
According to testimonies shared on social media, some fishermen attempted to capture the whale to consume its meat, which necessitated police intervention.
The story was published on Facebook by the user Rogelio San Miguel Navarro, who described that "the animal approached the shore, causing a surge of locals to witness the unusual event."
He assured that the situation was on the verge of ending very differently for the cetacean: "Fishermen were getting ready to catch the animal to consume its meat. The authorities intervened to prevent the feast, which almost took place."
"The whale was saved," said San Miguel Navarro in his post, which circulated widely among Cuban users.
The images of the incident show groups of 30 to 50 people gathered on the shore, with bicycles and at least one cart, indicating how quickly the news spread among the local residents.
In a video, the police presence in the area is observed, although the subsequent status of the animal is unknown, nor is it clear how it ended up on the shore.
The episode contrasts with other whale strandings previously recorded in Cuba, where neighbors attempted to assist the animals.
In March 2021, when a whale was stranded on the Caribbean beach of Baracoa, the locals attempted to return it to the sea. A resident then criticized the official response time: "After nearly three hours, the authorities arrived in a boat to rescue the poor animal."
In October 2024, a Cuvier's beaked whale stranded on Playa Baracoa in Artemisa, and died despite the neighbors' efforts to save it; firefighters, police, and members of the Armed Forces came to remove the remains.
The contrast between those episodes and the current one reflects the impact of the acute food crisis that Cuba is experiencing. In May 2026, in Yumurí, also in Baracoa, a shark weighing over 500 kg was captured and sliced on the shore in front of about twenty people, including children and a police officer, in a similarly telling episode.
The official protocol in the event of a stranding is to avoid touching the animal, notify environmental authorities and scientific institutions, and keep it wet if it is alive until specialized assistance arrives.
So far in 2026, the Cuban coasts have recorded at least two additional incidents involving dead cetaceans: a pygmy sperm whale found off the coast of Matanzas in January and a dead whale at Santa Lucía beach, Pinar del Río, in February, making this year one of the most active for sightings and strandings of large marine mammals in Cuba.
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