On the evening of Wednesday, July 1, a whale weighing approximately ten tons washed ashore on Muanda beach in the Kongo-Central province. The animal, measuring between 10 and 12 meters in length, was found alive by residents but died shortly thereafter despite efforts by authorities and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) to return it to the sea. De Dieu By'Ayombe, the provincial director of the ICCN, clarified that the animal was already dying when it stranded.