CANBERRA, Australia – About 130 pilot whales died after three pods became stranded on a remote beach in southern Australia, a government official said today.
Two groups of long-finned pilot whales beached themselves near Marion Bay on the southern island state of Tasmania, according to Liz Wren, a spokeswoman for the state’s parks and wildlife service.
A fisherman first reported seeing the whales swimming ashore early Tuesday, but Wren said it took wildlife officials several hours to reach the site, which is accessible only by boat.
Nearly 60 whales died and about 10 were rescued with the help of scores of volunteers and wildlife officials by nightfall Tuesday.
But a third pod began beaching at dusk. For safety reasons, the rescue effort did not resume until this morning, Wren said.
“It was a new pod because the ones that were returned yesterday were tagged, so we know that they didn’t re-strand,” Wren said. “We’re left with a total of about 130 or so dead pilot whales, which is a real shame.”
Rescuers found about 70 of the latest arrivals dead on the beach this morning and 14 still alive.
Rescue volunteers battled onshore winds and rough surf to return eight survivors to the sea by late morning. The rest died, Wren said.
“I took a lot of effort to dig the whales out of the sand, roll them onto mats, get the mats down to the water’s edge and then go into quite a rough surf to help the whales get orientated back in the water and swimming in the right direction,” she said.
Associated Press
Rescuers attempt to save some of the long-finned pilot whales that beached themselves on Tasmania Tuesday.
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