On Wednesday, a mass stranding of 230 pilot whales was discovered at Macquarie Harbor in the Australian state of Tasmania.
According to a statementfrom the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, marine conversation experts are on their way to the area.
The department identified the animals as pilot whales and added that the marine mammals are stranded on the sand of Ocean Beach. Half of the whales are reportedly still alive.
The department’s Marine Conservation Program is assembling whale rescue gear to attempt to save the whales, who are still fighting for their lives on the beach.
At the scene of the stranding, the team will work with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service and Tasmanian Police at Strahan, the department detailed.
Talking to theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation, David Midson, the general manager of the West Coast Council, urged the public to stay clear of the area.
Courtesy NRE Tas
Wednesday’s dire news mirrors another shocking event for those monitoring mass whale strandings like these. On Sept. 21, 2020, 470 pilot whales became stranded in the same harbor –– making it the worst mass whale stranding in history.
Approximately 100 survived the 2020 stranding,ABC Newsreported.
“The department has a comprehensive Cetacean Incident Manual which has undergone extensive review since the 2020 mass stranding and which guides a stranding response,” the department stated about the coincidence.
The statement added that “response in this area is complex” and may require help from the public once the situation has been assessed.
“Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offense to interfere with a carcass,” the statement ended.
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On Tuesday,fourteen whaleswashed up dead on the shores of King Island — an Australian island north of Tasmania,TheGuardianreported.
According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania’swebsite, mass strandings from whales and dolphins occur regularly in Tasmania. “The Marine Conservation Program continues to respond to these events, on average, once every two to three weeks,” the website detailed.
“As such, the MCP is in a unique position to refine rescue procedures and work towards an increased understanding of why these events occur,” the department added. “A response may involve the rescue of live whales or dolphins at a mass stranding, or it may be to gather as much information as possible from a single dead animal in order to understand the patterns and processes that drive stranding events.”
source: people.com
