Two visitors to Stewart Island, New Zealand, found 107 pilot whales stranded at a remote beach, reported the Department of Conservation. These whales were euthanized.
New Zealand officials said by the time Department of Conservation staff were able to arrive at the location, about half of the whales were already dead. After assessing the situation, they realized the whales could not be saved and therefore decided to euthanize these animals.
In total, 48 pilot whales were put down. These whales will then be left to decompose naturally on the beach due to the remoteness of the stranding location.
Whale strandings, while rare, are not abnormal occurrences; instances of it have happened throughout history. Pilot whales are one of the more susceptible species to this accident.
Click Start to view pictures of this and other strandings.
A pod of 107 pilot whales are seen stranded on Mason Bay on Stewart Island, February 21, 2011. According to the Department of Conservation, two overseas visitors discovered the pod of 107 whales dead and dying at the southern end of the beach near Cavalier Creek. A decision by the department was made to euthanise the remaining whales, because high tide was 10 to 12 hours away.Department of ConservationA pod of 107 pilot whales are seen stranded on Mason Bay on Stewart Island February 21, 2011. According to the Department of Conservation, two overseas visitors discovered the pod of 107 whales dead and dying at the southern end of the beach near Cavalier Creek. A decision by the department was made to euthanise the remaining whales, because high tide was 10 to 12 hours away.Department of ConservationA pod of 107 pilot whales are seen stranded on Mason Bay on Stewart Island February 21, 2011. According to the Department of Conservation, two overseas visitors discovered the pod of 107 whales dead and dying at the southern end of the beach near Cavalier Creek. A decision by the department was made to euthanise the remaining whales, because high tide was 10 to 12 hours away.Department of ConservationDead whales lie on the beach at Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island December 28, 2009. More than 100 pilot whales died after being stranded at Farewell Spit, according to local media. The beached whales were discovered by a tourist plane on Saturday. Picture taken December 28, 2009. Department of ConservationThe body of a stranded pilot whale is seen on a beach in the coastal region of Bustamante Bay in the Argentine Patagonian province of Chubut September 14, 2009. Specialists are due to arrive at the area to investigate the situation, where 40 whales beached themselves over the weekend. A similar occurrence involving 400 pilot whales happened in the same area in 1991.ReutersThe bodies of stranded pilot whales are seen on a beach in the coastal region of Bustamante Bay in the Argentine Patagonian province of Chubut September 14, 2009. Specialists are due to arrive at the area to investigate the situation, where 40 whales beached themselves over the weekend. A similar occurrence involving 400 pilot whales happened in the same area in 1991ReutersOne of several pilot whales which were found beached in the port of Burela, northwestern Spain, lies dead January 8, 2003. Some eight whales were found dead here at the same time some 80 pilot whales died after swimming ashore on Stewart Island, New Zealand. ReutersRescuers attempt to cool and coax back out to sea some of the more than 40 pilot whales that beached themselves for the second day in a row July 30, 2002 on sand bars off the town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Rescuers hopes of saving the whales dimmed because the animals were already tired and distressed from their hours spent out of the water during their first stranding one day earlier and approximately 25 miles southwest of their present location.ReutersA mass stranding of Pilot Whales on the shore of Cape Cod, 1902.National Oceanic & AtmosphericThree Beached Whales, a 1577 engraving by Dutch artist Jan Wierix, depicts stranded Sperm Whales.Monsters of the Sea by Richard
