Helfer von der Organisation Project Jonah versuchen, die Walen zu retten. Foto: AFP/Project Jonah

Stranded Pilot Whales: Over 20 New Zealand Whales Released – Entertainment

The Guna Project assistants try to save the whales. Photo: AFP / Gona Project


Farewell Spit has once again become a trap for test whales in New Zealand. Several animals drifted on Monday, and now again. Volunteers formed a human chain and led about 20 whales into deep waters.

Wellington – More than 20 pioneer whales have been returned to deep waters after being again stranded off New Zealand. “Whales are currently swimming freely off the coast and are monitored by a boat from the Nature Conservation Agency,” The Gona Project organization said on Tuesday. Early Monday, about 50 animals were stranded on the narrow Farewell Spit. Many of them died, but about 28 of them survived the night.

Often affected by spit farewell

However, aides found this group on Tuesday in the same area off the South Island, Pacific state. Volunteers formed a human chain to propel whales into deeper waters. A small group has shied away from the main group, but they can still swim freely, according to a Facebook post in the afternoon.

According to media reports, scientists are trying to find out why such incidents are so common on the Farewell Spit. In February 2017, between 600 and 700 whales were stranded there, 250 of them died. Long-finned pilot whales belong to the dolphin family. Black mammals can reach eight meters in length.

Whales and dolphins drifted in many places. On the other hand, mass shoreline operations are observed mainly in Western Australia, New Zealand, the east coast of North America, and Chile (more precisely in Patagonia). Occasionally, there are collective filaments in the North Sea. Around 2,000 marine mammals die every year around the world.

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Often the cause is confusion

According to the researchers, there are completely different reasons why whales are stranded; Much has not been fully explored yet. However, the main reason is considered to be the errors of navigation of the animals. Another cause of mass delinquency is the social behavior of many whale species: they are usually in groups and follow a primordial animal. If this loses its orientation, it leads to the fact that others swim after him. Once stuck in shallow water, other animals never leave the whale alone – putting themselves in danger. Causes range from confusion and group behavior to illness or injury.




In Germany, too, animals get lost from time to time. In 2003 a porpoise swam in Kiel Fjord and sealed in the Rhine last year. The cause is often unnatural, but manmade: accidental fishing, collision with ships, noise, toxins and plastic waste lead to the death, injury or debilitation of whales.

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