WHALES STRANDED ON REMOTE NEW ZEALAND ISLAND DIE IN HUNDREDS

Sat 08 October 2022:

After becoming stranded on a beach in the distant Chatham Islands, about 215 pilot whales died.

A DOC spokesperson said on Saturday that they had received a report of about 250 whales beached in the northwest corner of Chatham Island (Rkohu/Wharekauri), which is located 840 kilometers east of the mainland of New Zealand.

They claimed that the remaining whales had to be euthanised because of the conditions on the island.

“We do not actively refloat whales on the Chatham Islands due to the risk of shark attack to both humans and the whales themselves.”

“The Chatham Islands is a challenging spot for stranding response, known for great white sharks, remote beaches and a resident population of less than 800 people,” environmental charity Project Jonah said on Facebook.

Project Jonah said those factors meant the whales that were still alive on discovery had to be euthanised.

“While we always hope surviving whales are able to be refloated, this wasn’t an option here.”

“These mass strandings are distressing events, and while we always hope for surviving whales are able to be refloated, this wasn’t an option here.”

The Chatham Islands are home to the largest recorded stranding event in the world, involving an estimated 1000 pilot whales, which occurred there in 1918, according to the Department of Conservation (DOC).

51 pilot whales became stranded at Hanson Bay in 2018 and perished there. Another 30 or so were able to self-refloat.

Nearly 600 pilot whales had stranded on Farewell Spit at the top of the South Island just a year earlier.

400 of them were able to be refloated thanks to DOC and an army of volunteers, many of whom were from Project Jonah.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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