- About 80 pilot whales stranded themselves Wednesday at Spirits Bay in New Zealand.
- Most of those whales are feared dead.
- Last month, 63 pilot whales stranded themselves near Kaitaia, about 56 miles away.
Only 24 of the whales remained alive on Thursday morning, although it was difficult to gauge the exact number of dead because some carcasses had floated out to sea. Click to enlarge this image.
New Zealand Department of Conservation
Almost 60 pilot whales are feared to have died in a mass beaching in a remote New Zealand bay, as wild weather hampers efforts to refloat them, conservation officials said Thursday.
A pod of about 80 whales was found stranded on Wednesday at Spirits Bay, 320 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Auckland, the second mass beaching in the area in two months.
While 25 of the whales were already dead, the Department of Conservation called in 100 volunteers to help the remaining mammals survive.
But the department's Carolyn Smith said only 24 of the whales remained alive on Thursday morning, although it was difficult to gauge the exact number of dead because some carcasses had floated out to sea.
"It's pretty cold and arduous for the people on the beach trying to save the whales," she told Radio NZ.
Smith said heavy swells and high seas were making it impossible to refloat the whales at Spirits Bay and the department was considering using trucks to move them to a more sheltered beach about an hour's drive away.
Last month, 63 pilot whales stranded themselves near Kaitaia, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) away. Only nine survived.
Scientists are unsure why pilot whales beach themselves, although they speculate it may occur when their sonar becomes scrambled in shallow water or when a sick member of the pod heads for shore and others follow.
Tags: Aquatic Mammals, Beach, Mammals, Marine Life, Whales
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