250 pilot whales washed ashore on New Zealand coast and died

About 250 pilot whales have been washed ashore in New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, the Department of Conservation has confirmed.

The whales were alive, but because they could not be brought back to the water, most were sacrificed.According to the department, as quoted by New Zealand news portal Stuff.

“We do not actively float whales in the Hundred Islands because of the risk of shark attacks to humans and whales,” said a spokeswoman for the agency. “The remaining whales were euthanized by a professional team to prevent further suffering.” was added.

Bodies of cetaceans have been washed up on beaches A natural process of decomposition.

The Johan Project Marine Mammal Rescue NGO has posted information on Facebook about the 215 stranded whales, but admits that rescuing them is impossible.

“Sound Islands is a difficult thing to answer. They are known for white sharks, inaccessible beaches and less than 800 people (…). Not an option”, the group pointed out on Facebook.

Beached whales are a frequent sight in the Chatham Islands. In 1918, the largest event of this type was recorded with around 1,000 dead pilot whales. In 2018, 51 pilot whales died in Hanson Bay strandings. Then about thirty people managed to make their own way back to sea.

In 2017, about 600 people ran aground on Farewell Spit in New Zealand’s South Island and the military, volunteers and Project Jonah managed to rescue about 400 people.

Stranded whales are a frequent and difficult phenomenon to explain

The reasons why whales and dolphins strand on the sand are not fully understood and may respond to several reasons at once. Hypotheses indicate An illness, the topography of the sea floor, navigational errors, the presence of predators or extreme weather.

Sometimes a whale goes ashore after being sick. Due to the social nature of these mammals, the group decides to follow them.

Does this happen in some places?

It happens frequently in some parts of the world. In the Southern Hemisphere, Tasmania and Golden Bay in New Zealand are scenes of many such phenomena. In the Northern Hemisphere, it has been identified in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, USA.

These places share similarities in the topography and environmental conditions of their beaches. For example, Cape Cod and Golden Bay have long, narrow beaches and shallow waters with large tidal variations. Some describe these areas as “whale traps” because of the speed with which the waves fall.

Is this an increasingly frequent occurrence?

Whale fibers have been documented since ancient times. But the health of the oceans has deteriorated in recent decades.

This phenomenon may become more common with human use of the oceansand increased marine transport and chemical pollution.

Diseases can also increase cases. But there’s still a lot to understand about the subject, Stockin says.

Is climate change a factor?

Research into how climate change affects marine mammals is still in its infancy. Experts know that climate change will cause changes in the distribution of predators and prey. For some species, this can lead whales closer to shore.

For example, recent research based on climate prediction models suggests that the distribution of sperm whales and blue whales in New Zealand could change significantly by 2050.