Around 477 pilot whales were found dead after they had beached themselves on New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands. The Department of Conservation stated that nearly half of the whales had beached themselves on Friday at Tupuangi Beach, and the other half had beached themselves on Monday at Waihere Bay.
The Department of Conservation said that the whales’ deaths were “natural occurrences” but that the situation is “still sad and difficult for those helping.” According to Daren Grover, the general manager of a nonprofit group which helps to rescue whales, none of the whales could be refloated—a process in which conservationists keep whales cool and wet on land before carrying them back to the ocean using tarpaulins or large floating platforms—because there was a shark presence in the water.
Whales which were not already dead had to be euthanized as a result.
Mass pilot whale strandings are common in New Zealand, and while scientists aren’t entirely sure what causes the whales to beach themselves, they believe that the animals' echolocation can draw them closer to hunting grounds, but fails to tell them when they are running out of water.
"They come closer and closer to shore and become disoriented. The tide can then drop from below them and before they know it, they're stranded on the beach,” said Grover. Pilot whales are also social animals, so they may strand themselves collectively as a result of coming to the call of an injured friend.
Just two weeks ago, another 200 pilot whales died after stranding themselves on Australia’s island state of Tasmania. Rescuers were able to save at least 32 pilot whales from the mass stranding.
"Nature is a great recycler and all the energy stored within the bodies of all the whales will be returned to nature quite quickly," said Grover, who explained that the whale carcasses will not be buried or brought out to sea, but will be left to decompose instead.