130 whales die after stranding on beach

ABOUT 70 pilot whales died after becoming stranded on a remote beach in southern Australia, bringing the total to 130 over two days, a government official said yesterday.

Two groups of long-finned pilot whales beached themselves near Marion Bay on the southern island state of Tasmania early on Tuesday, according to Liz Wren, a spokeswoman for the state’s parks and wildlife service. Nearly 60 whales died and about 10 were rescued, she said.

A third pod of whales began beaching at dusk on Tuesday. “It was a new pod because the ones that were returned yesterday were tagged so we know that they didn’t re-strand,” Ms Wren said.

Rescuers and wildlife officials found about 70 of the latest arrivals dead on the beach this morning and 16 still alive. Battling rough seas and winds, they were able to return eight to the sea by late morning, but another eight died. “We’re left with a total of about 130 or so dead pilot whales which is a real shame,” Wren said.

“It took a lot of effort to dig the whales out of the sand, roll them onto mats, get the mats down to the water’s edge and then go into quite a rough surf to help the whales get orientated back in the water and swimming in the right direction,” Wren said.

She said the exact numbers of deaths and survivors were not available because the beachings were spread over one kilometre.

There was no explanation of why the whales beached themselves. Long-finned pilot whales are medium-sized, reaching up to about six metres (20 feet) in length, with a bulbous forehead.

A group of 70 long- finned pilot whales beached themselves in the same location in 1998. Only 10 survived.