Death of a gentle giant: Heartbreaking moment beached humpback whale appears to weep as it loses its battle to stay alive on Brazilian beach

This is the heartbreaking moment when a stranded humpback whale appears to cry as it breathes its last after stranding on a beach in Brazil.

The beautiful marine mammal washed up on Caipe Beach in Sao Francisco do Conde on July 16.

Footage taken by astonished onlookers shows how tears seem to stream down the gentle giant’s face as if he knows he is close to death.

Tragically, on July 17, marine experts reported that the captive whale had died, despite desperate efforts to save it.

The animals can only survive out of the water for a few hours, and the stranded whale could blink continuously as it met a devastating end.

The stranded humpback whale blinks continuously as it meets a tragic end. Outside the water, the animals can only survive for a few hours

Projeto Baleia Jubarte – or Humpback Whale Project – veterinarian and coordinator Gustavo Rodamilans told local media: ‘We tried to drag the animal three times.’

He added: “We had all the appropriate equipment, a well-trained team, but the whale managed to break free from the rope and didn’t get carried away.”

The humpback whale first washed up on Mare Island in All Saints’ Bay on July 8.

After being relaunched, it again foundered on Caipe Beach on July 15.

With the help of volunteers and a tugboat, it was returned to the sea for a second time, only to wash up again the next morning at a nearby spot.

Gustavo told local media at the time: “We noticed that his fin is dislocated or broken, but we can only confirm this with an X-ray.

Footage captured by astonished onlookers shows tears appearing to stream down the stranded humpback’s face as if it knows it’s near death

“However, a dislocation or fracture in a whale cannot be treated and that makes the animal’s survival impossible.”

The Humpback Whale Project team had told local media it was considering euthanizing the animal, but it’s not clear how it came to an end.

Scientists have officially rejected the claim that the whale had howled.

They say the reason for the tears was the release of oil to lubricate the whale’s eyes while it was out of the water

Biologist Victor Bandeira explained, “There is a gland in the eyelid that produces oil to lubricate the eye and prevent it from drying out.

“Since the whale is on land and exposed to wind, its eyes dry out, so it produces this oil to protect the eyeball.”

While whales don’t howl as humans would, witnesses of whale strandings around the world have reported the sheer emotion of the animals when they come ashore.

Liz Carlson, who witnessed a mass stranding of pilot whales in New Zealand in 2018, said: “They had tears in their eyes… They looked like they were crying and they were making sad noises.”

She told the BBC it was ‘the worst night of my life’, adding: ‘You feel the fear in the animals, they’re watching you. They look at you and have very human eyes.’

In the UK, more than 50 pilot whales were stranded on a beach in the Outer Hebrides this weekend.

Thousands of whales and dolphins strand each year for a variety of reasons.