New Zealand: Nearly 240 pilot whales died after stranding

Wellington – Nearly 240 pilot whales have died after being stranded on a remote island in New Zealand. Marine mammals were lost on Pete Island in the South Pacific more than 800 km off New Zealand’s east coast on Monday, the country’s conservation agency said on Wednesday. Only on Saturday there were about 240 test whales in the neighboring whale Chatham Island perished.

Dave Lundquist, the agency’s consultant, said some of the whales died on arrival, but the rest needed to be euthanized to lessen the suffering. In the area, rescuers would not actively return marine mammals to the water “due to the risk of shark attacks on humans and the whales themselves, so euthanasia was the most humane solution.” The agency said Pitt is the most remote inhabited island in New Zealand, with limited communications and difficult logistics.

According to the whale conservation organization Project Jonah, with approximately 480 dead whales within a few days, these key chains were in the Pacific State. “While there are large mass strandings on the Farewell Spit (on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island), there are an average of 70 to 80 whales.”