[ad_1]
According to animal rights activists, as of Tuesday 90 of the pilot whales had died off the Tasman coast. About 180 people were still trapped on sandbars in Macquarie Harbor. The day before, the number of marine mammals that died was around 25. On Tuesday, a mission to save the whales began.
According to scientists, two large pods of pilot whales were stranded in the bay on the island’s rugged and sparsely populated west coast. The images showed that marine mammals were huddled in shallow water in search of space. Authorities marine biologist Kris Carlyon said the difficult recovery operation would take several days.
The animals could only be reached by boat, which limited the number of people involved. Around 60 people participated in the rescue operation, including volunteers and employees from local fish farms.
The mass stranding of whales off the Tasman coast is not uncommon. But such a large group of beached whales has not been sighted on the island for more than a decade.
