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AUSTRALIA-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENT
Rescuers find another 200 stranded whales in Australia
SYDNEY, Sept 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Rescuers trying to refloat a pod of
stranded whales in a remote Australian harbour say they have found another
200, taking to 470 the total number that have become stuck.
The long-finned pilot whales are trapped in two separate locations in
Macquarie Harbour, on the rugged and sparsely populated west coast of
Tasmania, a spokeswoman for the state’s environment department told AFP.
“It has been confirmed that approximately 200 whales that were undetected
up until this point were found” at a spot seven to 10 kilometres (four to six
miles) further in the harbour, she said.
Parks and Wildlife Service manager Nic Deka said the second pod was
discovered early Wednesday morning by an aerial surveillance crew who
believed most had already died.
“We already have staff on the way to make an assessment, but certainly from
the air didn’t appear to be in a condition that would warrant rescue,” he
told reporters in the nearby town of Strahan.
“Most of them appear to be dead but we will wait for advice from the ground
crew before we make a final call on what we do.”
About 270 whales were found Monday, sparking a major effort to free the
giant mammals that were mostly stranded on a sandbar only accessible by boat.
At least 90 of those whales have already died, though scientists were
hopeful the survivors would hold out for the several days it was expected to
complete the rescue mission.
Rescuers spent Tuesday wading in the cold shallows to free about 25
creatures, using boats fitted with special slings to guide them back to the
open ocean.
Wednesday’s discovery of another 200 whales makes the mass stranding the
largest recorded in Tasmania’s history.
Officials have now expanded their search area to see if more whales are
stuck nearby.
The rescue crew of 60 conservationists, skilled volunteers and local fish
farm workers are concentrating their efforts on the roughly 200 whales on a
sandbar, where the creatures are partially submerged in water.
“What we do know is the mortality has increased — that’s inevitable — but
there are still a significant number that are alive so we’ll continue to work
with those,” Deka said.
Several of the whales rescued Tuesday re-stranded overnight in line with
predictions by whale behaviour experts, but Deka remained upbeat about the
rescue mission.
“The good news is the majority of whales that were rescued are still out in
deep water and swimming,” he said.
“They haven’t stranded. So we’ve been more successful than not.”
The causes of mass strandings remain unknown, but scientists have suggested
the highly sociable pilot whales may have gone off track after feeding close
to the shoreline or by following one or two whales that strayed.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0846 hrs