Hundredwhales restrand Sharks an added threat as rescuers return
A hundred pilot whales have been found stranded on Farewell Spit this morning after the mass beaching yesterday which saw hundreds die.
Department of Conservation Golden Bay Operations manager Andrew Lamason said this morning they were unsure at this stage if the whales had re-stranded after being refloated yesterday or if some new whales had joined them.
Hopes again rested on the high tide around 11.30am to get the whales into deeper water.
Volunteers returning for a second day to help the whales were this morning briefed to be extra cautious after shark attacks on some of the whales. There was concern about blood in the water, and about stingrays in the area.
Lamason said today’s clear skies were another complication for the surviving whales, after cloud yesterday helped keep them cooler.
A pod of about 416 whales stranded on the beach, about a kilometre from the base of the spit, early yesterday morning.
Having been cared for by hundreds of volunteers, about 50 surviving whales were left alone overnight. It had been hoped they would re-float naturally and swim back to sea at high tide, about 11.30pm.
Lamason said many people stayed overnight at the camp grounds, and the Farewell Spit Eco tours were running a bus today to get people out to the site.
He was unsure whether more volunteers would be needed, but considering they had double the amount of volunteers yesterday than their biggest turnout ever for a whale stranding, he was quietly confident there would be enough helpers.
The huge pod of whales which stranded yesterday had been seen swimming in Golden Bay on Thursday night.
About 300 – close to 75 per cent – had died by the time Department of Conservation (DOC) staff arrived.
The dark-coloured carcasses were strewn along the beach, most of them at the high-tide mark yesterday.
Staff from DOC, Project Jonah and volunteers attempted to refloat the survivors at high tide, about 10.30am, but were only par- tially successful.
An estimated 50 whales, including the pod’s matriarch, returned to the sea.
However, the remaining 80 to 90 survivors re-stranded in shallow water.The mission for volunteers then changed to keeping them alive as the tide receded and the whales were exposed in puddles, or on the sand.
About 500 volunteers used sheets to cover the whales’ thick skin and buckets to continuously pour water over them to keep them cool.
‘‘They’re used to free-ranging in the ocean," Project Jonah general manager Daren Grover said. ‘‘They’ve never been on a beach before. It’s a highly stressful situation for them. They’ve never heard a human voice before, most likely. They’ve never seen us before.’’
Some people shed tears, others sang songs or whistled to the whales, some gave them names. Most worked quietly and collaboratively to balance the whales upright to give them the best chance of surviving.
Kevin Pouri-Lane, of Motueka, made the trip over to Farewell Spit with his wife Lofi and son, Reiahumanaru.
He said he felt a connection with the whale he spent the day taking care of. ‘‘You start getting attached, eh. We do a little karakia, try and introduce ourselves. Just let them know we’re there to help, eh. Then you get a few chills on ya. It’s been awesome, despite the travesty.’’
Department of Conservation operations manager Neil Murray said because the high tide was late last night, volunteers had to leave for their safety. ‘‘We just can’t leave people out here for the night,’’ he said.
He said there were a ‘‘whole bunch of reasons’’ why it wasn’t safe for volunteers to remain after dark, including the risk of shark attack.
At least one of the whales had marks on it consistent with being chewed by a shark, which could have occurred while it was stranded.
Murray said the stranding was the worst he had seen and the third worst in New Zealand history.
‘‘There’s a disastrous number of dead animals there at the top of the beach,’’ Murray said.
‘‘The carnage at the top of the beach, that’s out of mind, just that volume of animals.’’
There were many theories about why the whales stranded, but the reasons were largely unknown. It was possible that there were some sick animals that went in to strand and the rest of the pod followed.