Six whales have died after a mass stranding on a remote beach in New Zealand’s South Island, while volunteers are urgently working to save 15 others that remain alive.
On Thursday, about 55 pilot whales were stranded on Farewell Spit. Most managed to return to the sea, but 15 whales have restranded along roughly 1 kilometer of the shoreline.
Project Jonah, a non-profit organization dedicated to marine mammals, shared a video showing volunteers keeping the whales cool by pouring water over them.
Louisa Hawkes from Project Jonah explained the urgent rescue efforts: “When the tide comes in, we need to act fast to bring these whales together and move them into deeper waters.”
Pilot whales are highly social animals, often staying close to one another. Volunteers are attempting to gather the stranded whales into a tight group to help them reunite and swim out safely together. The rescue team hopes to refloat them later today, but the falling tide makes timing critical.
Authorities are calling for volunteers to assist in the rescue operation. New Zealand’s conservation department has sent rangers, a boat, and a drone to monitor the area and prevent further strandings.
Farewell Spit, located at the northern tip of the South Island, has a history of mass whale strandings. The area’s gently sloping tidal flats and rapidly dropping tides often trap whales along their migratory routes.
In February 2017, more than 400 long-finned pilot whales washed ashore at Farewell Spit, marking the largest stranding in New Zealand in over a century.
