A new case of mass mortality of cetaceans in Pacific waters. About 250 pilot whales have died after they ran aground on a beach in New Zealand’s Chatham Islands., as approved by the government’s Department of Conservation. This is true, a month after all 230 specimens of this species in Tasmania were stranded ashore, half of them died.
Whales lived but Given the impossibility of returning them to the water, many were sacrificed, According to the Department quoted by New Zealand news portal Stuff.
“We do not actively refloat whales in the Chatham Islands. shark attack risk for both humans and whales themselves“The surviving whales were sacrificed by the professional team to avoid further suffering,” said a spokesperson for the agency.
Bodies of marine mammals are left on the beaches for a natural decomposition process.
Marine mammal rescue NGO Proyecto Johan has posted information on 215 stranded whales on Facebook, but is also aware of the impossibility of their rescue.
“The Chatham Islands are a difficult place to save. White sharks are islands known for their inaccessible beaches and population of less than 800 (…). That wasn’t an option,” the group said on Facebook.
The Chatham Islands are a frequent scene of the death of stranded whales. The largest event of this type was recorded in 1918, with about 1,000 dead pilot whales. In 2018, 51 pilot whales died after running aground in Hanson Bay. Then about thirty people were able to return to the sea by their own means.
In 2017, there were about 600 people stranded on Farewell Spit on New Zealand’s South Island, and the Army, volunteers and Jonah Project managed to save about 400.
A few weeks ago, a 230 whales They were stranded on a remote beach in Macquarie Bay, west of the Australian island of Tasmania, and half died.informed the authorities.
This big twist comes true just right Two years after about 470 pilot whales, also known as pilot whales, were stranded in the same place, Efe reported that only a hundred of them were rescued and taken to the open seas.
These and other marine mammals are frequently stranded off the coasts of southern Australia and New Zealand. before experts explain whyalthough they are often attributed to diseases, navigational errors, sudden changes in tides, cruelty by predators, or extreme weather conditions.
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