Rescuers fighting to rescue 270 whale pods stranded in western Tasmania have found 200 more whales in the same port, about 10 kilometers away, all of which appear to be dead. This stranding is probably the largest on record globally and the worst in the history of Australia.
The helicopter was inspected over the quarry harbor on Wednesday morning and the total number of long-winged pilot whales has come down to about 290.
The death toll could rise today as Infrared Helicopter Surveillance data is analyzed, said Nick Deka, rescue coordinator for the regional manager of Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services.
Dr. Chris Carlyon, a marine conservation program wildlife biologist, said Wednesday that the addition of 200 whales has made the current the largest in Tasmania’s history.
Records also show about 294 whales, long-cut pilots, trapped at Stanley in northwestern Tasmania in 1935.
About 60 rescuers, led by the Tasmanian government’s Marine Conservation Program, are entering the second day of the rescue, which is centered on an area called Fraser Flats near the town of Strahan.
As many as 25 whales were lifted from the sand dunes on Tuesday and dragged by boat to open the water, but two returned to the main trapped pod.
Deka said the new group of 200 whales was in two bays 7km to 10km south of the main rescue site.
Looks like they’ve been found and probably. Entered the port at the same time as the others. A crew was heading to the new stranding site on Wednesday morning. The port is about 35 km long and 8 km wide.
Deca said: “From the air, most people look dead.”
Asked why he had not been seen before, he said: “The water is a very dark tannin color and maybe they are trapped and then washed back into the bay. They did not appear to be in any condition to defend themselves from the air. ”
He said that even if those 200 whales had been spotted by the end of Monday when the northbound group was discovered, it was unlikely he would have changed his strategy.
When the first 270 whales were discovered, it was estimated that about 90 people had already died. “We would still have focused our efforts on Fraser Flats because it has the best chance of survival.”
On Tuesday, Deca told Guardian Australia that two methods were being considered. It was one thing to bury a whale in a landfill, or another to tie it up in open water and keep it afloat using ocean currents.
“We know we can’t leave them in port because they will present a number of issues. We are committed to retrieving and disposing of rie. “
He said Wednesday that the focus is on rescuing whales in Fraser Flats and he is hopeful that the 25 whales rescued yesterday will join more today.
About 40 government employees and 20 volunteers, mostly from the harbor fishing industry, are in the deep water in the chest and waving sand under the whales.
The tags are attached to monitor the rescued whale. Pilot whales are very social and need to be taken very far from the main group that they do not turn and do not go back.
Deca said it was disappointing that the two whales rescued on Tuesday returned to the stranding site, “but most of the whales [we saved] Still deep in the water and still swimming. We have been more successful than ever. ”
Carillon said: “There is nothing to suggest this [stranding] Is due to human. This is a natural phenomenon and we know that the strands have come before and we know that from the fossil record.
“As long as we are able to prevent this from happening.”
Carillon said the incident was natural, but there was a public expectation that survivors would be helped.
He said desiring some animals was an option, but it was not an easy practice and is not considered at this stage.
“We think we have a chance with animals that are still alive.”
Dr. Kare of Macy’s University in New Zealand. Karen Stockin is a global expert on whale and dolphin strands and is on the expert panel of the International Whaling Commission on the issue.
He said the MQ Query Harbor Stranding was probably the largest in Australia.
“It is fair to say that this will probably rank third or fourth globally [in terms of the numbers of stranded animals]”
Long-lived pilot whales, which can live up to 40 years, are notorious for large strands, St-Kin said, adding that they live together in a strict social structure.
“Some will stay in their pods for the rest of their lives,” he said.
