Tasmanian government officials reported that there are nearly 200 stranded pilot whales that died on Tasmania's west coast. There were 35 whales that survived, but only 32 were successfully returned to deeper water on Thursday.
Pilot Whales Stranded at Tasmania Beach
On Wednesday, the pilot whales were stranded on Ocean Beach, west of Strahan while others were left aground in Macquarie Harbour, south of the town, on a sand flat. On the same day, marine conservationists began a rescue operation, and work continued all day until Thursday.
Numerous whales have been recovered and transported to deeper water, according to Sam Gerrity of Southwest Expeditions, who has been participating in the rescue and release effort.
Only 35 of the 230 cetaceans on Ocean Beach were still alive as of Thursday morning, according to the officials. But on Thursday afternoon, Brendon Clark, the incident controller, reported that 32 of the 35 animals had been saved.
In contrast to the 2020 stranding, which took place in the harbor's protected waters, he claimed that the whales were in a more exposed area of the coast.
"We still have three alive animals on the northern end of the beach," according to Clark. However, due to access restrictions, primarily tidal influences, they haven't been able to safely access those three creatures. According to The Guardian, the rescue team said that they would be their top priority in the morning. Throughout the day, they will switch over to carcass recovery and disposal activities.
Whale Rescue Operation at Tasmania Beach
In the current operation, according to ABC News Australia, whales with the highest chance of survival were driven from the shore to the safer waters at Macquarie Heads, where they were strapped into slings and pulled out to deeper water by boats.
Clark commended the salmon farmers for providing tools, labor, and boats. A mechanical aid that had been lent by an aquaculture business had made it simpler to raise the whales.
The whales that had lived through Thursday, according to Kris Carlyon of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas), would be stressed. He said that their top priority was getting them upright, stabilized, cool, and moist because they had spent a lot of time on the beach.
What's the Reason Behind the Whale Stranding?
According to marine specialist Vanessa Pirotta, the causes of whale strandings are yet unknown. She said that the strandings remained a mystery and noted that the second stranding was unusual.
She claimed that, while pilot whales are very sociable creatures, there are a few accepted hypotheses as to why they wander off. One reason she cited is misnavigation, adding that environmental circumstances might also have a role. According to her, the repeated stranding of the same species at the same time and in the same place could provide some sort of clue that there might be something environmental here.
Mass Stranding 2020 Incident
In 2020, the same circumstance occured. In spite of a weeklong effort, only 111 of those whales were saved while the rest died, according to USA Today.
Linton Kringle, a local salmon farmer who helped in 2020, said the most recent task will be more difficult. Kringle claimed that the last time they were in the harbor the water was calm, which enabled them to deal with the whales and approach them with the boats. However, the water right on the shore this time is just too shallow and too turbulent for a boat to enter.
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