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An additional 200 long-finned pilot whales were discovered on Wednesday in Macquarie Harbor on Tasmania’s rugged and sparsely populated west coast, bringing the number that has stalled this week to 470.
This brochure photo taken and received from Brodie Weeding of The Advocate on September 22, 2020 shows a pod of whales washed up on a beach in Macquarie Harbor on Tasmania’s rugged west coast. Image: AFP
SYDNEY (AP) – Hundreds of pilot whales were killed in a mass stranding in South Australia despite efforts to save them, and rescuers raced Wednesday to free a few dozen survivors.
Another 200 long-finned pilot whales were discovered Wednesday in Macquarie Harbor, on Tasmania’s rugged and sparsely populated west coast, bringing the number that has stalled this week to 470.
About 270 pilot whales were found Monday, prompting a major effort to free the giant mammals from a sandbar that can only be accessed by boat.
Parks and Wildlife Service manager Nic Deka said most of the second capsule, which was discovered early Wednesday by an aerial surveillance team, was believed to be dead.
“We have a boat that arrived at the site recently, so they evaluated one group, the smallest group that is in a bay, and all those whales are dead,” he told AFP.
“They are currently circling the second bay where the largest group is.”
The rescue team of 60 conservationists, trained volunteers and local fish farm workers are now concentrating their efforts on the survivors of the first herd, who are partially submerged.
“The best assessment we have this morning is that between 50 and 70 whales are potentially still alive,” Deka said.
“So these are the animals that we are focusing our efforts on.”
Rescuers spent Tuesday wading in the cold shallow waters to free about 25 creatures, using boats equipped with special slings to guide them back to the open ocean.
“They’re focused on the job, it’s a demanding job, some of them are chest deep in cold water, so we’re trying to rotate crews,” Deka said.
“It’s very physically draining. It is also emotionally draining.”
The discovery of another 200 whales makes the mass stranding the largest on record in Tasmania, an island state off the southern coast of mainland Australia.
They were found between seven and 10 kilometers (four and six miles) from the first group, with the distance and waters stained with tannin, meaning rescuers didn’t spot them earlier.
Officials have now expanded their search area to see if there are more whales caught nearby.
Some of the whales rescued Tuesday were again stranded overnight according to predictions by whale behavior experts, but Deka remained optimistic about the rescue mission as several more were released Wednesday.
“The good news is that most of the whales that were rescued are still in deep water and swimming,” he told reporters in the nearby town of Strahan.
“They haven’t been stranded. So we’ve been more successful than not.”
The causes of mass strandings remain unknown, even to scientists who have been studying the phenomenon for decades.
However, some researchers have suggested that the highly sociable pilot whales may have strayed after feeding near shore or following one or two strayed whales.
Tasmania environment department marine biologist Kris Carlyon said it was a “natural event” with strandings of the species occurring regularly throughout history in both South Australia and neighboring New Zealand. .
“We intervene and respond in these situations, but to the extent that we can prevent them from happening in the future, there is very little we can do,” he said.
Carlyon said animal welfare issues were one of the main reasons authorities and conservationists intervened in the mass strandings, along with public expectations and the ability to learn more about a species.
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