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48 Pilot Whales Stranded Along New Zealand, 33 of Them Saved
Image Source: Flickr
This past weekend, New Zealand saw its third major whale stranding this season.
On Saturday, 48 Pilot Whales were found stranded on South Island at Port Levy. Thanks to a vast amount of help from the Department of Conservation and numerous volunteers, 33 of the stranded whales were able to be coaxed back into the water and saved. Unfortunately, the other 15 didn’t make it and joined the other 125 beached whales that died earlier in the season.
According to the Department of Conservation’s community relations manager, Grant Campbell:
“It’s a very, very shallow bay in Port Levy, very muddy, so whether they were chasing food and got caught in the shallows, we don’t know.”
Finding stranded whales along New Zealand’s beaches is, unfortunately, not an uncommon thing. Many of them are found during the summer season as they migrate from Antarctic waters to their breeding grounds. However, scientists have yet to find out why so many become stranded every year. Autopsies are being planned for 2 of the recently dead whales.
The volunteer effort for the latest stranding was absolutely fantastic, though. Over 80 people came together to help the whales make it back to sea—twice. They first became stranded on Saturday and volunteers helped them back to the water; but on Sunday morning the pod was found stranded again. Considering that some of the whales were up to 17 feet (5 meters) long, and that adult pilot whales can weigh between 1.5 and 3 tons, getting them back to the water was no easy task. Local volunteer, Ted Howden, explained that “they began floating and we were able to push them out, and away they went”.
Pilot whales actually go by a misnomer similar to the Killer whale, in that neither of them are actually whales. Both are part of the dolphin family, though they share behavioral traits with larger whale species. Also known as “blackfish” and “Calderon Dolphins”, they love to feed on squid and live in groups ranging from 10 to 30 members (on average). Pilot whales are among the most widely distributed marine mammal, as they are sited often across the globe. Unfortunately, they are also a prime hunting target near places such as the Faroe Islands and Sri Lanka.
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: beached, Department of Conservation, dolphins, New Zealand, pilot whales, Port Levy, South Island, stranded, volunteers
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Seeker is looking for a solution to save stranded Whales (US$ 1000 reward)
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