New Taipei City, Taiwan   -   Taiwanese volunteers gathered around a large inflatable whale as they learned how to help beached sea mammals -- an increasingly common sight across the island.

More than 100 dolphins and whales now wash up on Taiwan’s beaches every year, a sharp rise over the past decade, according to researchers.

After spotting a beached mammal, volunteers at a recent training run by the Taiwan Cetacean Society (TCS) were told not to push the mammals back into the sea, but to immediately call the coast guard with their precise location. The Coast Guard works with groups like TCS in emergency operations that often include trained volunteers.

TCS secretary-general Tseng Cheng-tsung said he gradually developed “a sense of mission” after participating in multiple rescues, which inspired him to get a master’s degree in marine biology.

“Many people like to get close to nature and protect it,” he said.  Saleswoman Joanna Hung, 36, joined the training after seeing “rather bloody footage” of a plastic straw being pulled out of the nose of a rescued turtle.

“If we haven’t come to class, we would act on our own ideas which may cause more harm if we don’t have the right knowledge,” she told AFP. “I want to try my best to help them survive,” she said.