A Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), an endangered species, was found washed ashore on Sakom Beach in Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla province on Saturday.

Natthapong Onthong, chief of the Khao Pa Chang-Laem Kham non-hunting area, said on Sunday that officials were notified of the beached whale by villagers, who thought it was a dolphin, and went to investigate.

He said the rare beaked whale appeared to be weak, slightly injured and unable to swim back into the sea, adding that he asked the marine and coastal resources research centre to send a veterinarian to treat the mammal.

The condition of the animal is improving, he added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine expert attached to the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, told the media that the Blainville’s beaked whale is a very rare deep-water whale species and has only been sighted once, in Phuket about 12 years ago.

He said there are three beaked whale species in Thai waters, namely Blainville’s, Cuvier’s and Ginkgo-toothed, adding that all three are very rare and they have only been found five times in Thailand, when they beached.

A Blainville’s beaked whale can grow up to 4.7 metres long and weigh about a tonne. It lives in the seas around the world at depths between 200 and 1,000 metres and, therefore, its numbers are not known.