STUART ISLAND (9 Jan 2003) -- One hundred and fifty-nine pilot whales were stranded at Ocean Beach on Stewart Island yesterday. By nightfall half of them were dead. About 30 volunteers and 20 Department of Conservation (DOC) workers tried to keep the mammals alive. The live whales were covered in sheets and continuously dampened to protect them from the heat. DOC workers were flown to the remote beach by helicopter after being told at midday of the whale stranding. High tide was at 7pm. Volunteer Shirley Whyte said last night 39 whales had been refloated and herded out to sea. DOC technical support manager Andy Cox said strandings were common for pilot whales. There was an average of one every two years in the southern area. One of the worst was at Doughboy Bay, on Stewart Island, in 1998 when about 300 whales died. Two years ago another group was stranded at Maori Bay, also on Stewart Island. There were two main reasons for whales stranding, Mr Cox said. "A lot of strandings happen on beaches like this when they have simply ballsed-up their navigation or a sick one will strand and the rest will follow them in," he said. "This is a typical beach for poor navigation." DOC workers and volunteers battled against time to get whales upright before the tide washed over them. There were fears they would drown if their blowholes became blocked. DOC technical support officer Helen Kettles was covered in blood after a whale injured its tail thrashing when people tried to move it. | | The workers had the gruesome task of moving dead carcasses to free living whales and dig trenches around them to turn them upright. The fight to save the whales was not over once they were returned to sea. Many of them became disoriented and returned to shore. To monitor the whales' movements, a ribbon was tied to their tails so DOC staff could tell which ones returned. The dead whales will remain on Ocean Beach to decompose, which could take about a year. Samples for research would be taken from their carcasses to compare with samples taken from whales that perished at Maori Bay. A sign will be erected at the beach warning people not to swim or remove whale parts for health reasons. SOURCE - New Zealand Herald |
