145 Stranded Whales Dead After Mass Beaching in New Zealand: 'It's Just a Really Sad Event'

Photo: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty

One hundred and forty-five whale have died after stranding themselves on Stewart Island in New Zealand.

Ren Leppens, the Rakiura operations manager for the Department of Conservation, told AP that the beached whales were likely stuck on the sand for at least one day before they were found.

“You feel for the animals, it’s just a really sad event,” Leppens said. “It’s the kind of thing you don’t want to see. You wish you could understand the reasoning why the whales strand better, so you could intervene.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only mass stranding conservationist are handling: on Sunday, 10 pygmy killer whales beached themselves on another part of the island. Two of the animals have since died, and rescuers are hoping to refloat and save the others.

Incidents of whales stranding themselves are common for Stewart Island and New Zealand as a whole. According toThe Guardian,there have been 5,000 recorded stranding incidents in New Zealand since 1840, with an average of 85 incidents each year. Last year saw the country’s largest mass beaching, when more than 400 pilot whales stranded themselves on New Zealand’s Golden Bay. Even with impressive rescue efforts, more than 300 of the whales died.

There is no one answer for why whales end up stranded on shore.Project Jonah, a whale rescue group based out of New Zealand, says it can be because the animals are old, sick, injured or confused.

Project Jonah general manager Daren​ Grover toldStuff.co.nzthat the set up of Mason Bay, the part of Stewart Island where the 145 pilot whales were found on Saturday, could have been confusing to the whales. The beach’s “gently shelving waters” could have distorted the whales’ echolocation, causing a navigational error for the pods.

source: people.com