Over 30 Pilot Whales Dead After Mass Beaching Event in New Zealand

Over 30 pilot whales in New Zealand’s “death trap” died last week after a mass beaching event in an area notorious for whale deaths.

Source: WION/Youtube

A pod of over 30 whales was spotted washed up on shore stretched out across almost two miles of beach. The Farewell Spit beach in Northern New Zealand’s South Island is known for its mammal strandings.

Wildlife officials were notified when the pod was washed up, and the Project Jonah Charity rushed to help. They messaged over a thousand volunteers, many of whom rushed out to try to help the whales back to the ocean before it was too late. They managed to get five whales back in the water, but a little later, two of them washed back ashore and had to be euthanized, according to the charity’s Facebook post.

The whales who did not make it have been secured off on the beach, and they will allow them to decompose naturally.

This beach is no stranger to the devastating beaching of these whales. In 2017, they saw the largest beaching in New Zealand in the last 100 years, where 400 pilot whales were stranded.

Source: Associated Press/Youtube

Pilot whales are unique in that they usually remain with their pod for their entire life. Some think that if one of the whales is stranded on shore, the rest will follow.

Although there is no determined cause for these mass standing, experts think that the whales become stranded here because of the shallow seabeds, which can interfere with the sonar navigation that these whales use to communicate. When the sounds bounce on shallow seabeds, it can cause the whales to become confused. Beachings have also been linked to seismic testing, which can cause confusion and disorientation amongst marine animals. Sign this petition to stop seismic testing!

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