About 500 pilot dolphins have died stranded in New Zealand
About 500 pilot dolphins have died in the remote Chatham archipelago New ZealandOn Tuesday, October 11, the government announced that it would not carry out a rescue operation due to the remoteness of these shark-infested islands.
who are they “important seatsOne of the whales washed ashore and the survivors were euthanized, the Department of Conservation said. About 250 stranded experimental dolphins were found on Friday on Chatham Island, the largest of the archipelago’s islands, and about 240 dolphins on Pitt Island, three days later, according to the same source.
Fear of a shark attack
The authorities said that due to the distance between this archipelago and New Zealand, which is about 800 km, a rescue operation was impossible. “Fearing shark attack on humans and cetaceans, the surviving experimental dolphins were killed by our team to spare them further suffering.Dave Lundquist, the government’s naval technical advisor, told AFP. “Such a decision was not made easily, but in such cases it was the best option.He added. The bodies will be left at the site.
Such strands are no stranger to the Chatham archipelago, with the largest dating back to 1918, when a thousand pilot dolphins perished. Just over two weeks ago, about 200 pilot dolphins perished on a beach in Tasmania, Australia. 44 mammals were released. The causes of these major leads are not fully known.
Read alsoMarine Protected Areas: over 46,000 square kilometers for cetaceans in the Mediterranean
These pilot whales, which can reach up to six meters in length, can duck right behind a sick member of the herd. Bad weather or the presence of predators can also force them to change their route. Official figures show that around 300 experimental dolphins are stranded in New Zealand each year. It is not uncommon for individual strandings to include groups of 20 to 50 cetaceans, or even hundreds when a large group of mammals is involved.
See also – A humpback whale about ten meters long washed up on the beach in Pas-de-Calais
“Reader. Travel maven. Student. Passionate tv junkie. Internet ninja. Twitter advocate. Web nerd. Bacon buff.”