A rare dwarf sperm whale was found stranded in shallow waters off the coast of Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province on Monday.

The whale is about three meters long and weighs 200 kilograms. It was spotted swimming in shallow waters of Liuheng Island at Monday noon with minor injuries on its head.

Staff members of the local fishery administration arrived at the site after receiving the report from local residents.

Rescuers and residents tried to push it back to the water by hand before sending for a boat to help.

"I tried to push it back into the water. I was a bit afraid as it looked like a shark. Then I saw its small mouth (and realized it's not a shark). I tried several times to push it into the water. But it looks like the animal lost the sense of direction and repeatedly swam back to the beach," said Zhao Zhonglian, the local resident who first spotted the animal.

With a rope tying its tail to a boat, the whale was safely brought back to the deep water and set free.

As one of the most commonly beached deep-diving whales in the world, dwarf sperm whale is an endangered species that has a range throughout tropical and temperate oceans.

It is listed as a second-class state protected animal in China.

(Cover image is a screenshot from the video)

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