About 200 pilot whales have died, stranded on a beach on the west coast of Australia’s island of Tasmania, where rescuers managed to save more than 30 animals.
Authorities said only 32 of the 226 stranded pilot whales had enough power to rescue after a great effort in harsh conditions.
“We’re working to get whales that are considered fit for the sea,” marine biologist Sam Thalmann told AFP.
Aerial footage shows dozens of whales along the sands of the Ocean beach.
After the animals were discovered, locals covered the whales with blankets and used buckets of water to keep them alive.
But in most cases this was not enough.
“Unfortunately we have a high mortality rate from this stranding. This is mainly due to exposure conditions at Ocean Beach,” said Brendon Clark, director of operations for the local wildlife department.
“The environmental conditions, the waves on the west coast definitely affect the animals,” he said.
Among the tasks was the removal of animal corpses so as not to attract sharks to the area.
Two years ago, the area witnessed the stranding of nearly 500 pilot whales, the largest ever recorded in the country. Despite rescue efforts, more than 300 people died.
At the time, conditions were less severe for marine mammals because they were in “much more sheltered waters,” Clark said.
Investigating the causes
The whales’ remains will be autopsied to try to determine the cause of the often unknown grounding.
Scientists suggest that the phenomenon may be caused by animals that lost their way after searching for food near the shore.
Pilot whales, which can grow up to six meters in length, are highly social and tend to follow their group mates when they are in danger.
In some cases, this happens when old, sick, or injured whales swim to shore and other members of the group attempt to respond to distress signals from the stranded whale.
Some scientists believe gently sloping beaches like those in Tasmania confuse the sonar of marine mammals and trick them into thinking they are out in the open.
This week, 14 dead young male sperm whales were also found on a remote beach on King Island, between the Tasmania and Melbourne coasts.
Kris Carlyon, a wildlife biologist at the government’s environmental agency, told the local Mercury newspaper that the death of the marine mammals may have been a case of “misadventure.”
New Zealand also records relatively frequent grounding.
According to official figures, approximately 300 animals are stranded on the road every year in the country. It is not uncommon to see groups of 20 to 50 pilot whales stranded on a beach.
But the numbers can reach hundreds, as in 2017, when about 700 whales were stranded.
source: Noticias
