At least 29 pilot whales died after being stranded near Farewell Spit, the longest natural sandbank in the world, located northwest of the South Island of New Zealand, official sources reported Friday.
While the efforts of the rescue teams are focused on saving five whales that have survived and refloating them, the New Zealand Ministry of Conservation points out on social networks.
“The process may take some time and we may not know if it will be successful or not for several hours,” the authorities point out on Facebook, in an operation that also includes veterinarians from the conservation organization Project Jonah.
The group of 34 pilot whales was sighted last night at Farewell Spit, a 34-kilometer-long sandbank located in the tourist area of Golden Bay and known for the frequency with which massive cetacean strandings occur.
The authorities indicated today that they “do not know” the cause of the current stranding.
In February of last year, a total of 49 pilot whales were stranded in Farewell Spit, of which 38 were refloated, while in 2017 the largest known cetacean stranding phenomenon occurred in that place when 700 specimens of pilot whales appeared trapped and 250 perished.
Scientists have not yet been able to explain why pilot whales sometimes stray from their paths and become stranded in shallow water, although the possibility that they get lost, attracted by noise pollution or guided by a group leader, is considered. disorientated. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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