ZCZC
BFF-42
AUSTRALIA-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENT, NEWSERIES
At least 380 whales dead in Australia mass stranding
MACQUARIE HARBOUR, Australia, Sept 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – At least 380 whales
have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia, officials said
Wednesday, as hopes faded of saving more than a few dozen of those creatures
still trapped.
Nearly the entire pod of 460 long-finned pilot whales stuck in Macquarie
Harbour — on the rugged and sparsely populated west coast of Tasmania — has
now perished.
“We can confirm that 380 whales are dead,” Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife
Service manager Nic Deka said, describing the three-day rescue effort as
emotionally and physically taxing.
“There’s around 30 left still alive, but the good news is that we have
saved 50,” he said.
It is believed to be the largest mass stranding ever recorded in
Australia, and is among the largest anywhere in the world.
The first of the giant mammals were discovered floundering on Monday,
sparking a major effort to free them from sandbars and beaches only
accessible by boat.
A rescue crew of 60 conservationists, skilled volunteers and local fish
farm workers have spent days wading in icy water trying to release the whales
— which can grow up to six metres (20 feet) long and weigh a tonne each.
The crews have focused efforts on a group of 30 partially submerged
whales, using boats fitted with special slings to guide them back to the open
ocean.
“They’re focused on the job — it’s demanding work, some of them are up to
their chest in cold water so we’re trying to rotate the crews,” Deka said.
“Its very draining physically. It’s also draining emotionally.”
Nearby, rescuers decked in florescent uniforms tried to cloak fully
beached whales in wet sheets to keep them alive, while other members of the
once close-knit pod lay dead.
“As time goes on (the whales) do become more fatigued so their chances of
survival reduces,” Deka said. “But we’ll keep working as long as there’s live
animals at the site.”
“Increasingly our focus is shifting to what to do with the retrieval and
disposal of the carcases.”
– ‘Little we can do’ –
The whales have been found stranded across an area 10 kilometres (six
miles) long, and the search area has been expanded to see if more of the
mammals are stuck nearby.
Some of the whales rescued Tuesday re-stranded overnight, in line with
predictions by whale behaviour experts, who say the highly social creatures
would try to return to be with family and friends.
But Deka remained upbeat about the immediate prospects for those that made
it to the ocean.
“The good news is the majority of whales that were rescued are still out
in deep water and swimming,” he told reporters in the nearby town of Strahan.
“They haven’t stranded. So we’ve been more successful than not.”
The causes of mass strandings remain unknown — even to scientists who
have been studying the phenomenon for decades.
Some researchers have suggested the pilot whales may have gone off track
after feeding close to the shoreline or by following one or two whales that
strayed.
Tasmanian environment department marine biologist Kris Carlyon said it was
a “natural event” with strandings of the species occurring regularly
throughout history in both southern Australian and neighbouring New Zealand.
“We do step in and respond in these situations, but as far as being able
to prevent these occurring in the future, there’s really little that we can
do,” he said.
Carlyon said animal welfare issues were a major reason authorities and
conservationists intervened in mass strandings, along with public
expectations and the opportunity to learn more about a species.
It would have been a “hugely stressful” experience for the whales that
were freed, he said, but past events showed they were likely to thrive in the
wild.
“We have shown fairly conclusively that animals will regroup, they will
reform those social
bonds, and they will — at least in the short- to medium-term for the
duration that they’ve been tracked — demonstrate normal and natural
behaviour,” Carlyon said.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1827 hrs