While on vacation in Canada’s St. Lawrence River, teenagers saw a newborn white whale washed ashore. Nicholas Milliard, a 15-year-old boy, told how he managed to save the animal with his younger brothers. The children immediately dug a hole for the white whale so that water could accumulate in it.

“We dug a hole so that water would accumulate and its skin would hydrate,” 15-year-old Nicholas Milliard, who first found the calf with his younger brothers, told CBC News. “Every five minutes we got it a bucket of water. The water level was dropping, and it was becoming more and more difficult to get water.”

They poured water every five minutes to keep the animal’s skin from drying out. The Quebec family immediately called a rescue team and continued to care for the cub until specialists arrived. Rescuers returned the animal to the water. All hope is that the cub will be reunited with its mother or it will be nurtured by another white whale.