More than 150 false killer whales have been stranded on a beach in Tasmania, according to Australian environmental officials, and rescue teams are now frantically attempting to save those still alive.
About 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Hobart, the state capital, are marine experts at the scene of the massive beaching near Arthur River on Tasmania’s northwest coast, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
“They’ve been stranded now for, we estimate, 24 to 48 hours”, said Brendon Clark, a liaison officer at the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
Speaking at a news conference, Clark said that of the 157 beached false killer whales, only 90 appeared to still be alive. Authorities have yet to determine if any of the whales can be re-floated, he added.
“To try to re-float the animals directly back into that surf would be challenging, and then, of course, that would also present some enormous safety risks for our staff and personnel”, Clark said.
He explained that the rescue response was hampered by the beach’s inaccessibility, the ocean’s conditions, and the difficulties of transporting specialist equipment to the remote beach.
According to Clark, “we have our experts on site right now that are doing everything they can to try to find a suitable and compassionate response to this particular, very challenging incident.”
A local resident, Jocelyn Flint, said her son had discovered the stranded whales at about midnight on Tuesday, the Associated Press news agency reports.
“The water was surging right up and they were thrashing. They’re just dying, they’ve sunk down in the sand”, Flint said.
“There are little babies. Up one end, there’s a lot of big ones. It’s sad”, she added.
False killer whales are an oceanic dolphin species that appears to be similar to killer whales but is endangered. They can grow up to 6.1 metres (20 feet) long and weigh from 500kg (about 1, 100 pounds) to 3 metric tonnes (about 6, 600 pounds).
The incident, according to Clark, was the first for which the species had been stranded in Tasmania since 1974, when a pod of more than 160 landed on a beach close Stanley on the island’s northwest coast.
Clark said the carcasses would be examined for any possible clues, but he declined to speculate as to why the most recent pod might have stranded.
There are several things that can cause whales to become beached, including disorientation, illness, old age, injury, fleeing predators and severe weather.
The state’s environment department warned in a statement that “all whales are protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offence to interfere with a carcass”.
Source: Aljazeera
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