Beached Whale Situation Gets Worse With Hundreds More Stranded Ashore

The precise cause of the stranding was not known, though beached whales are not an uncommon sight at Golden Bay. As of now, volunteers are still trying to save the few remaining whales, keeping them as healthy as possible until Saturday afternoon, when the tide is high again.

Still, the latest event came as “a shock”, Project Jonah manager Darren Grover told Reuters. Experts said that the shallow coastline of what’s been dubbed as a whale trap appears to confuse whales, affecting their ability to navigate and go back into the sea once they get close.

Whales can also become stranded after being hit by ships or tangled in fishing nets.

Rescuers had been hopeful earlier Saturday after efforts to re-float the initial group of whales had gone well.

DOC ranger Mike Ogle posited a different theory on a local radio broadcast, reports The Independent, which notes Ogle suggested a shark may have been to blame. Between 250 and 300 perished by Friday morning, it said. Scores of volunteers have rushed to attend to the whales and attempt to refloat them toward deeper waters, only to see many re-beach themselves.

Seventeen whales stranded at Golden Bay overnight and these selfless helpers are doing what they can to save them, but they need help.

Between 1976 and 2000, 165 pilot whale strandings were recorded in New Zealand – half of them herd strandings – with 6000 whales in total running aground, it said.

He said 20 whales had been humanely killed by conservation workers as they were in a poor condition. Those helping in the rescue were also told to come with wetsuits, food and water.

A member of the public looks at the dead Pilot whales during a mass stranding at Farewell Spit on February 11, 2017.

The statement from the Department of Conservation is below.

Around 400 volunteers showed up to keep the whales cool and comfortable on Friday.

There is a second pod of around 200 pilot whales in the water that have headed towards the base of the spit. The biggest stranding, which saw around a thousand sea creatures beached on the Chatham Islands, dates back to 1918.

There are 100 live whales on the beach this morning.

It was one of the largest mass beachings recorded in New Zealand, where strandings are relatively common, the Department of Conservation said. In 1985, 450 were stranded near Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island.

Due to the stranding, the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand is restricting airspace over the Farewell Spit Nature Reserve, barring any planes, drones or helicopters from flying under 2,000 feet (600 meters) there.