Some 477 pilot whales have died after stranding themselves on two distant Recent Zealand beaches over recent days, officials say.
Not one of the stranded whales may very well be refloated and all either died naturally or were euthanized in a “heartbreaking” loss, said Daren Grover, the overall manager of Project Jonah, a nonprofit group which helps rescue whales.
The whales beached themselves on the Chatham Islands, that are home to about 600 people and positioned about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Recent Zealand’s predominant islands.
The Department of Conservation said 232 whales stranded themselves Friday at Tupuangi Beach and one other 245 at Waihere Bay on Monday.
The deaths come two weeks after about 200 pilot whales died in Australia after stranding themselves on a distant Tasmanian beach.
“These events are tough, difficult situations,” the Department of Conservation wrote in a Facebook post. “Although they’re natural occurrences, they’re still sad and difficult for those helping.”
Grover said the distant location and presence of sharks in the encircling waters meant they couldn’t mobilize volunteers to attempt to refloat the whales as they’ve in past stranding events.
“We don’t actively refloat whales on the Chatham Islands attributable to the danger of shark attack to humans and the whales themselves, so euthanasia was the kindest option,” said Dave Lundquist, a technical marine advisor for the conservation department.
Mass strandings of pilot whales are reasonably common in Recent Zealand, especially throughout the summer months. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes the whales to strand, even though it appears their location systems can get confused by gently sloping sandy beaches.
Grover said there’s plenty of food for the whales across the Chatham Islands, and as they swim closer to land, they might quickly find themselves going from very deep to shallow water.
“They depend on their echolocation and yet it doesn’t tell them that they’re running out of water,” Grover said. “They arrive closer and closer to shore and change into disoriented. The tide can then drop from below them and before they understand it, they’re stranded on the beach.”
Due to the distant location of the beaches, the whale carcasses won’t be buried or towed out to sea, as is commonly the case, but as an alternative shall be left to decompose, Grover said.
“Nature is a fantastic recycler and all of the energy stored throughout the bodies of all of the whales shall be returned to nature quite quickly,” he said.
Some 477 pilot whales have died after stranding themselves on two distant Recent Zealand beaches over recent days, officials say.
Not one of the stranded whales may very well be refloated and all either died naturally or were euthanized in a “heartbreaking” loss, said Daren Grover, the overall manager of Project Jonah, a nonprofit group which helps rescue whales.
The whales beached themselves on the Chatham Islands, that are home to about 600 people and positioned about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Recent Zealand’s predominant islands.
The Department of Conservation said 232 whales stranded themselves Friday at Tupuangi Beach and one other 245 at Waihere Bay on Monday.
The deaths come two weeks after about 200 pilot whales died in Australia after stranding themselves on a distant Tasmanian beach.
“These events are tough, difficult situations,” the Department of Conservation wrote in a Facebook post. “Although they’re natural occurrences, they’re still sad and difficult for those helping.”
Grover said the distant location and presence of sharks in the encircling waters meant they couldn’t mobilize volunteers to attempt to refloat the whales as they’ve in past stranding events.
“We don’t actively refloat whales on the Chatham Islands attributable to the danger of shark attack to humans and the whales themselves, so euthanasia was the kindest option,” said Dave Lundquist, a technical marine advisor for the conservation department.
Mass strandings of pilot whales are reasonably common in Recent Zealand, especially throughout the summer months. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes the whales to strand, even though it appears their location systems can get confused by gently sloping sandy beaches.
Grover said there’s plenty of food for the whales across the Chatham Islands, and as they swim closer to land, they might quickly find themselves going from very deep to shallow water.
“They depend on their echolocation and yet it doesn’t tell them that they’re running out of water,” Grover said. “They arrive closer and closer to shore and change into disoriented. The tide can then drop from below them and before they understand it, they’re stranded on the beach.”
Due to the distant location of the beaches, the whale carcasses won’t be buried or towed out to sea, as is commonly the case, but as an alternative shall be left to decompose, Grover said.
“Nature is a fantastic recycler and all of the energy stored throughout the bodies of all of the whales shall be returned to nature quite quickly,” he said.
