At least 25 pilot whales dead in mass beaching in New Zealand
At least 25 pilot whales died yesterday after beaching themselves in a northern New Zealand bay as rescuers battled to save almost 50 more stranded on the coast, officials said. In the second mass stranding in the area in two months, the Department of...
At least 25 pilot whales died yesterday after beaching themselves in a northern New Zealand bay as rescuers battled to save almost 50 more stranded on the coast, officials said.
In the second mass stranding in the area in two months, the Department of Conservation said a pod of 74 pilot whales were found around midday at Spirits Bay, 320 kilometres northwest of Auckland.
Another 50 whales were offshore and were continuing to strand themselves, the department’s regional manager Jonathan Maxwell said.
Mr Maxwell said volunteers were being called in to help keep the whales alive but no attempt to refloat them would be made until Thursday because of heavy seas and high winds.
“We are absolutely committed to saving as many of these animals as possible,” he said.
Last month, 63 pilot whales stranded themselves near Kaitaia, about 90 kilometres away. Only nine survived.
Scientists are unsure why pilot whales beach themselves, although they speculate it may occur when their sonar becomes scrambled in shallow water or when a sick member of the pod heads for shore and others follow.