Tourists rescued a rare melon-headed whale stranded on a beach in southern Thailand.

Footage shows lifeguards and holidaymakers carrying the marine creature that washed ashore on Patong Beach in Phuket on April 3.

Using cloth as a makeshift stretcher, the locals carried the whale and used a jetski to take it back into the open waters where it was released safely.

Melon-headed whales are rarely seen on the island and were last spotted on June 10, 2021.

In Thailand, they are a protected species, characterised by a triangle-shaped head when viewed from above.

When fully matured, they can reach a length of around 2.78 metres and weigh around 275 kilogrammes.

They usually give birth in July and August, with calves weaning at around nine to 15 months old.

Melon-headed whales typically gather in large pods. However, they are prone to mass strandings.

Their diet mainly consists of small fish, shrimp, and squid.

They inhabit deep waters in tropical and subtropical zones, similar to the habitat of pygmy killer whales, and have been known to wash ashore in locations such as Chonburi and Songkhla.