newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
On Friday, two more whales died in Australia after a handful of whales that had resurfaced the day before ran aground again.
Of the approximately 230 pilot whales stranded on Tasmania’s desolate west coast this week, about 200 have died.
The whale was spotted in Macquarie Harbor on Wednesday. About half survived at first, but the crashing waves killed many more. On Thursday, wildlife experts managed to resurface 32 of his 35 survivors.
Australian Wildlife Service investigating deaths of 14 sperm whales found on island
Brendon Clark, incident controller for Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said some of the whales beached again on Friday. He could not confirm the exact number, but said it was less than 10.
He said one of the whales had died and the other had to be euthanized.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s also one of the consequences of this kind of event,” Clarke told reporters.
He said the top priority was to resurface any of the three surviving whales that remained stranded during the incident in a remote area on the beach, as well as one that was again stranded.
Five dead after boat hits whale off New Zealand
Then comes the process of removing and disposing of the carcasses, he said. That includes collecting them at a central point on the beach.
“Then they’re basically longlined or tied and ready to be disposed of at sea,” Clark said.
Whales are more likely to be towed into deep water far from the shore so as not to wash up on the shore.
Bald Eagles: A Brief History of America’s Great Conservation Success Story
Rescue teams had hoped to reach the three stranded whales late Friday, but faced difficulties due to the location and tidal conditions, Clark said. More than 50 government workers and volunteers participated in the rescue effort.
The creature was discovered two years after the largest mass stranding of whales in Australia’s history was discovered in the same harbor.
In 2020, about 470 fin pilot whales were found stranded on sandbars. After a week of effort, 111 whales were rescued and the rest died.
The entrance to the harbor is a shallow and dangerous channel known as Hell’s Gate.