[ad_1]
WELLINGTON: A group of 28 pilot whales were successfully floated off a famous New Zealand beach where more than a dozen marine mammals died this week, jubilant rescuers said on Wednesday (February 24).
The long-finned pilot whales, which had been stranded once before, appeared to have finally swam out to sea, said the project Jonah animal rescue charity.
“Live whales haven’t been stranded overnight, so it looks like a hit at the moment. We’re using the phrase ‘cautiously optimistic,'” said the charity’s general manager, Daren Grover.
This brochure photo taken and received from Whale Rescue Charity Jonah Project through the New Zealand Department of Conservation on February 22, 2021 shows rescuers competing to save dozens of pilot whales that stranded on a stretch off the New Zealand coast at Farewell Spit, known for mass stranding. (Photo: AFP PHOTO / Jonah Project)
The whales were part of a pod of about 50 found Monday at Farewell Spit, about 90 kilometers north of the South Island resort town of Nelson.
LEE: Dozens of whales die stranded on an Indonesian beach
READ: Almost 100 whales die after mass stranding in New Zealand
Some 40 whales were pushed into the sea Monday night, but they swam back to land the next morning, with around 60 volunteers taking the 28 survivors into the water for the second time.
“The beaches have been screened along Farewell Spit and there are no signs of live whales … So far so good,” Grover said.
He said the dead whales would be moved to an area of the beach not used by the public, where the bodies will receive a blessing from the local Maori iwi (tribe).
Farewell Spit, a 26km sand hook that juts out into the sea, has been the scene of at least 10 pilot whale strandings in the last 15 years. (Photo: AFP / Marty Melville)
Farewell Spit, a 26km sand hook that juts out into the sea, has been the scene of at least 10 pilot whale strandings in the last 15 years.
The most recent was in February 2017, when nearly 700 of the mammals were stranded, leading to 250 deaths.
Scientists are not clear why the beach is so deadly. One theory is that the saliva creates a shallow seabed in the bay that interferes with the whales’ sonar navigation systems.
Pilot whales, the most common species of whale in New Zealand waters, are particularly susceptible to mass stranding.
Whales, which grow up to 6 m long, are regularly found stranded in large numbers.
They were involved in New Zealand’s largest recorded mass stranding of the Chatham Islands in 1918, when a herd of 1,000 swam ashore.
The remote islands, about 800 kilometers east of the South Island, were the scene of another incident in November last year when nearly 100 whales died.
Highly sociable animals are believed to be able to follow a sick leader to shore, panic over predators, or become stressed in extreme weather conditions.
