Around 200 stranded whales die in pounding surf in Australian state of Tasmania
- Just 35 of about 230 beached pilot whales are still alive, according to state wildlife services, who described a tough battle ahead to rescue the rest
- The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers, for reasons that are not entirely understood
A day after 230 whales were found stranded on the wild and remote west coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, only 35 were still alive despite rescue efforts that were to continue on Thursday.
Half the pod of pilot whales stranded in Macquarie Harbour were presumed to still be alive on Wednesday, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said.
But pounding surf took a toll overnight, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service manager Brendon Clark said.
“We’ve triaged the animals yesterday as part of the preliminary assessment and we’ve identified those animals that had best chance of survival of the around 230 that stranded. Today’s focus will be on rescue and release operations,” Clark told reporters at nearby Strahan.
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Hundreds of whales stranded along beach in Australian state of Tasmania
“We’ve got around 35 surviving animals out on the beach … and the primary focus this morning will be on the rescue and release of those animals,” Clark added.