Stranded Whales
© Associated PressTwo healthy pilot whales are loaded onto a boat in Cudjoe Key to be released at sea.

There was a moment of joy for the tireless marine mammal rescuers working to save a pod of stranded pilot wales Saturday evening in the Keys: two of the seven surviving whales were deemed healthy and released in deep waters nine miles offshore.

Cheers erupted on the barge carrying the whales when the two adult males met in open water, touched each other, and then swam away together.

The whales, each over 12 feet long and more than 1,000 pounds, were first fitted with trackers that should last between 2-3 months.

The pair were part of a pod of 20 pilot whales who inexplicably beached themselves Thursday near Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles east of Key West.

Thirteen of them have died, and the surviving seven have been cared for in a makeshift waist-deep pen, where volunteers continue to cover the whales' exposed bodies in zinc and sheets to protect their sensitive skin from the sun.

A fourteenth lifeless whale was brought in from sea even as the healthy whales were released.

While workers were thrilled to see the healthy pair of whiles head for sea, the prognosis is not as bright for the five who survive. Veterinarians are calling their condition critical, and report that one whale has developed pneumonia, and another is beginning to show symptoms.

It is not known why the whales stranded themselves in shallow waters, a phenomenon that usually indicates illness, confusion, or injury. Necropsies will be performed on the deceased whales to see if any indications can be found.