5HVFXHUV VFUDPEOH WR KHOS EHDFKHG ZKDOHV DIWHU PDVV VWUDQGLQJ LQ $XVWUDOLD
A8STRA/,A - 0ore than 140 short-finned pilot whales died after a mass stranding on a beach in :estern Australia yesterday.
A group of around 150 whales became stranded at +amelin %ay, around 300 kilometers south of the state¶s capital city 3erth.
Six surviving whales had been returned to the sea as of 7.00 p.m local time 7.00 a.m. (T , :estern Australia¶s 3arks and :ildlife Service said. ³8nfortunately, most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived,´ ,ncident &ontroller -eremy &hick said. &hick said moving the whales by nightfall was logistically challenging because of the rocky beach terrain and rough seas. ³2nce we have moved the whales out we will monitor the situation closely as it is possible the whales will come back into shore and re-strand. This has often been the case in previous mass strandings,´ he said.
Authorities said more than 100 local volunteers arrived on site to assist trained vets and officers from Sea Search and Rescue and the 'epartment of 3rimary ,ndustries and Regional 'evelopment. 0elissa /ay, manager of the +amelin %ay +oliday 3ark, told Reuters on )riday that it was the second mass stranding she had seen during her 15 years in the area. ³There are some that are still alive but barely,´ /ay said. ³The last time it happened, none survived.´ Short-finned pilot whales have a dark coloring with a pink underbelly and are known to inhabit tropical and subtropical waters. Authorities said it was not uncommon for migrating short-finned pilots to get stranded.
The largest mass stranding of whales in :estern Austraila took place in 1 6, when 320 long-finned pilot whales stranded themselves in the coastal town of 'unsborough. The incident prompted authorities to issue a shark alert over concerns the carcasses could attract the predators to the shoreline. ,t remains unclear why whales and other marine mammals get stranded, but experts say it can be a combination of factors, from old age, illness or inMury to accidental navigation errors.
³The strong social bonding of some species of whales can cause mass strandings,´ 3roMect -onah, a 1ew =ealand-based whale charity, told &11 last year. ³2ne of the most common patterns with mass strandings is that one or two whales will initially strand. These animals will send out distress signals and members from their pod may attempt to help or mill slightly offshore. A receding tide will then catch these animals out and soon the whole pod will become stranded.´
(CNN)