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A massive stranding off the remote Chatham Islands in the Pacific Ocean has killed more than 120 whales.
Ninety-seven pilot whales and three dolphins were killed in the stranding, and 28 pilot whales and three dolphins had to be euthanized, New Zealand Department of Conservation (DoC) staff said.
The Chatham Islands are part of New Zealand, but they are 800 km to the east, delaying the mission to rescue the animals. The DoC said the mass beaching occurred on a “remote beach” over the weekend and was alerted to the event Sunday.
DOC Biodiversity Ranger Jemma Welch said that due to the remote location and a power outage that made contact with people difficult, it was 3pm when rangers arrived at the site in Waitangi West Beach.
Home to just over 600 people, the islands are known as a beached whale “hotspot”, with the largest stranding in New Zealand history recorded on their beaches in 1918.
Welch said in a statement that the remaining whales “were euthanized due to rough sea conditions and a near-certainty that there are great white sharks in the water that are brought in by a stranding like this.”
Sam Wild is a diver and photographer in Chatham and first heard of the stranding when authorities told all local divers to get out of the water, due to the increased risk of visiting great white sharks. He took pictures of the dead whales and described the scene as “very sad” and “emotional”.
Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Ngāti Mutunga or Wharekauri Iwi Trust joined DoC staff and local people to perform a beach blessing on Monday and honor the spirit of the whales, which will naturally decompose.
According to the DoC, mass strandings are reasonably common on the Chatham Islands with up to 1,000 animals dying in a single stranding in 1918, the largest on record in New Zealand waters.
Concrete information on why whales get stranded remains elusive, but disease, navigation errors, geographic features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator or extreme weather are thought to contribute, according to DoC. .
Climate change is also to blame, scientists believe, with warming ocean temperatures moving whale prey closer to shore and forcing them to search for food in shallow waters.
On average, more than 300 dolphins and whales washed up on New Zealand’s beaches each year. According to local indigenous tribes, whale strandings are becoming larger and more complex, and more deaths occur.
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