416 whales stranded in New Zealand
The writer, photographer and tour guide gathered at a quarter past six Friday morning, their destination Farewell Spit, one of New Zealand’s most picturesque natural scenes.
It was still dark when the trio boarded a bus and set out across the sand, magazine editor Cheree Morrison and photographer Jane Ussher hoping to capture the sunrise in words and images.
Then their guide slowed the bus and gestured outside. “Your story,” he said, “is about to change.”
Whales, crying and sighing, lay stranded on the beach before them, Morrison said — 416 long-finned pilot whales.
“There’s nothing you can do,” the guide, who notified authorities, told them.
What they didn’t know at the time was that New Zealand’s Department of Conservation was already mobilizing a rescue effort. The night before, officials were notified that a pod of whales had wandered into shallow Golden Bay, but decided it was too dangerous to venture out in the dark, the department said in a statement. A swift flip of the tail by such a large creature can cause serious injury to a human.
Soon, busloads of volunteers via the department and Project Jonah, a charity that helps marine animals, appeared, spilling onto the beach to render aid.
Together, those assembled tried to flip the stranded whales upright. But 276 died, many before the sun had even risen.
Morrison and Ussher left the scene midmorning, but the rescue mission continued on into the day and night. As many as 500 volunteers showed up.
At 10: 30 a. m., the rescuers urged more than 100 of the surviving whales back out into the bay during high tide, according to the department’s statement. The effort was “partially successful,” officials said. Approximately 50 whales swam free, but another 80 or 90 re-stranded on the beach.
Volunteers will return Saturday morning to restart their rescue efforts.