More than 200 pilot whales have stranded in New Zealand. Most whales were found dead, others had to be euthanized.
Munich/Wellington – It’s a sad sight: more than 200 pilot whales stranded on an island in New Zealand. Most of the whales were already dead when they were discovered in the northwest of the main island of Chatham Island. The reports of dead elections on coasts keep coming. Argentina recently reported several dead whales in a short space of time. The experts were initially unable to find a cause.
New Zealand: More than 200 pilot whales stranded – No choice survived
The environmental protection project “Jonah” shared Facebook announced that 215 whales were found off the coast of the island. Most of them were already dead. “The Chatham Islands is a difficult place to respond to strandings: known for great white sharks, very remote beaches and a population of less than 800 people,” wrote the New Zealand organization that advocates for committed to the protection and rescue of whales and dolphins.
The circumstances would have meant that the whales that were still alive when they were discovered had to be euthanized by the nature conservation authority. “While we always hope that surviving whales will be able to be returned to the water, that wasn’t an option here.”
Reports of stranded pilot whales are piling up
The Chatham Islands are around 840 kilometers east of New Zealand’s two main islands in the South Pacific. It is not uncommon for whales to strand there. The largest stranding to date was recorded in 1918. At that time more than 100 animals died.
At the end of September there were similarly tragic pictures in Australia. 230 pilot whales have been found in the bay of the Australian island of Tasmania. Only 30 could be saved, all others died. “Some animals can be sick and get lost in a bay with shallow water. Subgroups with which the whales are friends or related will follow them – literally to the death,” whale researcher Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University in Queensland told the German Press Agency on the death of the whales in Tasmania. (vk/dpa)
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