NZ rescuers refloat whales
February 14, 2015
Rescuers in New Zealand had managed to refloat some three dozen pilot whales by Saturday night local time, the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) said.
DOC spokesman Andrew Lamason said the whales had swum aground again overnight after a previous refloating operation, but that Saturday's refloating appeared to have been more successful, with the marine mammals heading out into deep water.
However, he said 103 of the whales had died so far after the pod of nearly 200 became stuck at Farewell Spit at the northern tip of the South Island on Friday in what was one of New Zealand's largest mass beachings.
"We will have people back out scanning the beaches first thing in the morning and we will be putting a plane in the sky to see where they are," he said, adding that some 150 volunteers had been using buckets, sheets and shovels to keep the whales wet during the day.
He said that if there were still whales stranded by Monday midday and there was a low tide, rescuers would probably be forced to put the animals down.
The beach at Farewell Spit has been the scene of several mass pilot whale strandings in the past, but the latest stranding is one of the largest.
Pilot whales, which can reach a length of six meters (20 foot), are the most common species of whale in New Zealand waters.
tj/kms (dpa, AFP)