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Scientists have an unclear understanding of the obscure phenomenon of mass strandings of whales, when a large number of marine mammals suddenly fail – often their last acts.
There are, of course, many reasons why a whale would end up on a beach: illness or injury that leaves them at the mercy of ocean currents and strong waves; a sudden blow in the shallow waters to escape a predator or chase prey; even echolocation errors or confusion about tides that fall quickly, which can condemn them.
But these strandings occur mainly solo; they do not usually involve dozens of whales.
The discovery of a hiker in Mason Bay, New Zealand, over the weekend remains a heartbreaking mystery.
There, on a secluded beach, sawtoothed, there were more than 140 immobile animals: two pods full of pilot whales, dead or dying in the sun.
Due to its isolated location – Mason Bay is on the southernmost island of New Zealand, which has fewer than 400 inhabitants – authorities said they were unable to gather enough people to help whales return to the Pacific Ocean on time.
This left only one option: to help whales die.
"Unfortunately, the chances of re-circulating the remaining whales were extremely low," said Ren Leppens, Rakiura operations manager for the New Zealand Department of Conservation, in a statement.
Half of the animals were already dead when conservationists arrived, he said.
"The remote location, the lack of staff nearby and the deterioration of the whales meant that the most human thing to do was to euthanize," Leppens added. "However, it's still a heartbreaking decision to make."
The recovery of whales and dolphins can be time-consuming, with abundant trained personnel and, in some cases, special equipment. Experts recommend at least one person per animal just to appease a stranded creature; even then, it's a dangerous enterprise.
"Whales can become agitated when they are stressed and can injure or even kill a human with a flick of a fin or whale tail," according to the Nova Scotia Department of Conservation. Zealand. "They also carry disease, so people should avoid contact with exhalants or bodily fluids from the vent."
[Whale-watchers horrified to witness fishermen harpoon two orcas]
With the heartbreaking decision to euthanize, the operation of Mason Bay went from rescue to cleaning.
Pilot whales can be up to 20 meters long and weigh more than three tons, which is a huge mass of decaying flesh. According to National Geographic, decomposing whales present a unique type of danger because the gases accumulate inside large mammals, turning majestic marine creatures into a sudden danger of explosion.
Conservation authorities have placed a "rāhui" or restriction on the beach, according to the New Zealand Herald. The restriction, which has its roots in Maori culture, was intended to "deter people from approaching whales during their decomposition, primarily for their own safety," according to the Department of Conservation.
The agency said the restriction would remain in place while officials consider their next step.
The grounding was the largest in New Zealand since several hundred pilot whales were discovered last year in a place called Farewell Spit; many of them were already dead, according to the Department of Conservation.
During this incident, the authorities reported that hundreds of pilot whales swam in a shallow bay, then got stuck in the waterway and eventually failed. This is one of the worst mass strandings in the country's history, despite desperate attempts to save the animals.
The photos released by the New York Times last year showed more than 500 volunteers draping towels on marine mammals and pouring them out of seawater buckets before they could be refloated . Some returned to the water, but others ran aground soon afterwards, the Times reported.
More than 400 whales have been successfully salvaged, the Department of Conservation announced, but 250 people died.
The most recent grounding occurred a century after the largest reported whale stranding, also in New Zealand, according to CNN. In 1918, about 1,000 whales stranded on the Chatham Islands.
Since 1840, there have been more than 5,000 marine mammal stranding incidents in New Zealand, to the point that the Department of Conservation has a special hotline to report them.
Dead pilot whales line an isolated beach on Stewart Island, in the extreme south of New Zealand, on November 26th. (New Zealand Department of Conservation / AFP) (Document / AFP / Getty Images)
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