About 200 pilot whales perish on Australian beach
HOBART, AUSTRALIA - About 200 pilot whales have perished after stranding themselves on an exposed, surf-swept beach on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, Australian rescuers said Thursday.
Just 35 of the approximately 230 beached whales are still alive, according to state wildlife services, who described a tough battle ahead to rescue survivors. ● Aerial images from the scene revealed dozens of glossy, black mammals strewn along Ocean Beach, stuck on the waterline where the frigid southern ocean meets the sand. ● Locals covered some of the creatures with blankets and doused them with buckets of sea water to keep them alive until more help arrived. [...] Helpers usually wade into the water and use harnesses to float the mammals into deeper waters, but officials said a new technique will also be tested, using an aquaculture firm's mechanical aid. From there a vessel will take them to deeper clearer waters to avoid a new stranding. ● Two years ago nearby Macquarie Harbour was the scene of the country's largest-ever mass stranding, involving almost 500 pilot whales. More than 300 pilot whales died during that stranding, despite the efforts of dozens of volunteers who toiled for days in Tasmania's freezing waters to free them.