Wellington, Jan 19 (IANS) — Three pilot whales died on Sunday, including one euthanised by volunteers, after a group of 30 whales of a range of ages and sizes re-stranded near the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the third stranding in the area in the past two months.
Volunteers from the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Project Jonah, the organization protecting and conserving whales, dolphins and seals, attempted to refloat the remaining whales after the 30 pilot whales were found coming on shore near Pakawau in the Golden Bay on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
DOC Golden Bay operations manager Andrew Lamason told the Radio New Zealand that gusty easterly winds are not making things easy and conditions on the beach are harsh.
Project Jonah called on local people with wetsuits to assist with the refloat of the whales and help to keep them upright and cool on social media.
The remaining whales may have to be euthanized after the rescue team made little progress.
Last week, a juvenile beaked whale was stranded on a beach of New Brighton in Christchurch, the largest city of the South Island, and was quickly refloated, according to Project Jonah.
The shape of the bay was a possible factor for the repeated stranding of whales, according to the report.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media, Project Jonah said another stranding had taken place in Christchurch, involving a juvenile beaked whale that came ashore in New Brighton.
Eight of 10 whales that were stranded on January 7 were successfully reloaded.
A larger group stranded in December, with mixed results.
Department of Conservation Golden Bay operations manager Ross Trotter told RNZ last week it was unclear why whale strandings happened, particularly on Farewell Spit.
“It has been going on for years. There’s been a lot of theories and scientific research into it but we don’t know why they [the whales] strand in the first place or why they repeat strand.”
The shape of the bay was a possible factor, he said.
As for the whale in Christchurch, Project Jonah said they were quickly at the scene and got it refloated.
“Alongside locals and Department of Conservation rangers, the area is being closely monitored for any further signs of the whale.”
–IANS
int/dan
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