40 Beached Whales Die in New Zealand
I hate seeing these animals beach themselves and die. If they don’t die from exposure, I would suspect many die of stress, even if they are refloated in the water.
At least 40 out of 80 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a remote northern New Zealand beach have died, and more whales are joining them on land, officials said Wednesday.
It was the second mass beaching in the region in a month.
“More whales are still coming in. Pilot whales have very strong social bonds and they try to help each other so more keep getting stuck,” said Mark Simpson of Project Jonah, a charity that protects marine mammals.
The Department of Conservation’s operations manager on Spirits Bay beach, Patrick Whaley, said officials had already euthanized some of the weakest and most stressed animals.
Rough weather and sea conditions at Spirits Bay meant the survivors will have to be taken by road about an hour south to Rarawa Beach on Thursday morning where they will be refloated.
“They will be lifted up with big nets on to the back of trucks with straw or hay loaded on them,” Simpson said.