Some 477 pilot whales have died after stranding themselves on two remote New Zealand beaches over recent days, officials say.
“We do not actively refloat whales on the Chatham Islands due to the risk of shark attack to humans and the whales themselves, so euthanasia was the kindest option,” said Dave Lundquist, a technical marine advisor for the conservation department.
Mass strandings of pilot whales are reasonably common in New Zealand, especially during the summer months. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes the whales to strand, although it appears their location systems can get confused by gently sloping sandy beaches.Grover said there is a lot of food for the whales around the Chatham Islands, and as they swim closer to land, they would quickly find themselves going from very deep to shallow water.
“They rely on their echolocation and yet it doesn’t tell them that they are running out of water,” Grover said. “They come closer and closer to shore and become disoriented. The tide can then drop from below them and before they know it, they’re stranded on the beach.” Because of the remote location of the beaches, the whale carcasses won’t be buried or towed out to sea, as is often the case, but instead will be“Nature is a great recycler and all the energy stored within the bodies of all the whales will be returned to nature quite quickly,” he said.
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