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Nearly 145 whales died after a mbadive "ripping" grounding on an isolated island, the New Zealand Department of Conservation announced Monday.
A hiker reported whales to authorities Saturday night on Stewart Island, an isolated island off the south coast of the country. By the time the rescuers arrived at the scene, about half of the pilot whales had already died.
The decision was made to euthanize the whale survivors, the Department of Conservation announced in a statement.
Department of Conservation via AP "Unfortunately, the chances of being able to float the remaining whales are extremely low," said Ren Leppens, Conservation Operations Manager.
"The remoteness, the lack of personnel nearby and the deterioration of the condition of the whales make the most humane thing to do is to proceed to euthanasia."
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A large number of pilot whales have been stranded for as long as we know. It seems that this species is particularly exposed to these numerous strandings of live animals. It's always a bit of a mystery.
"It's always a heartbreaking decision to make," he added.
Mbad strandings, also known as "strandings," are one of many similar incidents that occurred this weekend in New Zealand, which are unrelated, reported officials. In the north of the country, a 49-foot-long sperm whale died Saturday in Doubtful Bay.
A rescue operation is also underway on the Ninety Mile beach, north of the island, after the discovery of ten pygmy orcs on Sunday.
Two of the animals died, but the authorities launched an appeal on Facebook to encourage the public to help "re-float" the eight whales still alive Tuesday morning.
Cases of stranded marine life are relatively common on New Zealand coasts. The Department of Conservation is responding to an average of 85 strandings a year, officials said, but most of the time, it is only one animal.
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The remoteness, the lack of nearby personnel, and the worsening condition of the whales meant that the most humane thing to do was to euthanize.
of the ordinary for pilot whales. According to The Guardian, the largest whale stranding ever recorded in New Zealand's history occurred in the Chatham Islands in 1918, when about 1,000 whales piloted.
"A large number of pilot whales have been stranded for as long as we know," said Russell Leaper, whale researcher at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, ABC News. "It seems to be a particularly sensitive species to these mbadive strandings of live animals. It's always a mystery. "
A number of factors can lead to the stranding of whales. These can include diseases, extreme weather conditions or human interference in the oceans. But in this case, "we can not attribute it directly to human activities," said Leaper.
"New Zealand seems to be a place inclined to that," he added. "They have a lot of long sandy beaches, but nevertheless, they seem to have a lot more of these mbad strandings than we expected anywhere else."
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