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Halin Glynn / Supplied
Nineteen pilot whales are dead after an overnight stranding near Coromandel’s Colville Bay.
Nineteen pilot whales have died after a second stranded on a beach north of Coromandel overnight.
A rescue mission was launched on Saturday after about 25 whales from a large pod were stranded in Colville Bay.
Volunteers re-floated them at high tide Saturday night, but with early light Sunday it became clear that 19 whales had been stranded again and died on a rocky headland.
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Daren Grover, general manager of the Project Jonah rescue group, said those whales had become separated from the main pod.
“It is not the result we always hope for. It’s sad that they were stranded and died, ”Grover said.
He said the rescuers’ focus now was to make sure the rest of the capsule remained in deeper water.
The volunteers were trying to position the boats in a barrier fashion, in an attempt to drive the whales away from the shore.
Grover described Colville Bay as “quite treacherous” due to its shallow and muddy water.
Grover said it’s possible the whales that were stranded and died may have had underlying health problems.
“That may be why the capsule headed inland in the first place,” he said.
Halin Glynn / Supplied
On Saturday, about 25 pilot whales from a large pod were stranded, but then floated again in Colville Bay.
Project Jonah continues to work with local iwi and the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Nick Kelly, the DOC’s Coromandel district operations manager, said he was glad most of the beached whales had rejoined the pod in deeper water Sunday morning.
“At this stage, we are cautiously optimistic, but we will continue to closely monitor the group.”
