A mass stranding has left almost 100 whales dead on the remote Chatham Islands in the Pacific Ocean.Rescue efforts to save them were hampered by the location of the island, which is about 497 miles (800km) off the east coast of New Zealand.A total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, which was first reported to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) at 12.30pm on Sunday.When officials arrived at the scene at Waitangi West Beach on Chatham Island nearly three hours later, just over a quarter of the stranded whales were still alive, although very weak.Officials said a power outage had also made it difficult to contact people as part of the rescue operation. Advertisement DOC Biodiversity Ranger, Jemma Welch, said: “Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this.”Two whales became stranded and were euthanised on Monday when a team of DOC staff made a follow-up visit to the site. More from New Zealand Ship carrying… Read full this story
- Why are 100 whales being kept in a “whale jail” in Russia?
- Nearly 100 women suffered under dancing doctor's scalpel, lawyer says
- Nearly 100 sick from drug-resistant salmonella from chicken
- Nearly 100 people sickened with norovirus on Maine beach, state CDC says
- UK nears 100 data breaches in six months
- Mass unpaid leave at Avaya Australia
- ‘I Lost Nearly 100 Pounds On The Keto Diet—And I Still Eat Chocolate Cake’
- FBI's 'Operation Phish Phry' snares nearly 100 people
- Chip firm's revenues nosedive nearly 100 per cent
- Heartbreak images as over 70 pilot whales are put down after 150 found in mystery beaching in New Zealand
Chatham Islands: Mass stranding leaves nearly 100 whales dead have 313 words, post on news.sky.com at November 25, 2020. This is cached page on CuBird. If you want remove this page, please contact us.
