About 145 Pilot whales stranded themselves in New Zealand last weekend. According to a press release issued by the New Zealand government’s Department of Conservation there were two pods found stranded along Mason Bay, a remote beach on the island nation’s southern coast. When the whales were discovered, most of the animals were already dead and those still alive, were extremely weak.
By the time officials from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) arrived on the scene, the decision was made to euthanize the remaining animals. Due to the remote location, lack of people in the vicinity and the difficulty of reaching the beach, efforts to try get the whales back into the ocean would have seen the already debilitated Pilot whales suffer further.
“Sadly, the likelihood of being able to successfully re-float the remaining whales was extremely low.” said Ren Leppens, the DOC’s operations manager in the press statement.
The decision to euthanize was the humane thing to do. Pilot whales are known for stranding themselves, although the reason behind this occurrence is still unclear.
‘Exactly why whales and dolphins strand is not fully known but factors can include sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather. More than one factor may contribute to a stranding.’
Pilot whales are not actually whales, but are a large species of cetacean (dolphin). There are two species of Pilot whales, namely the long-finned and the short-finned pilot whale.
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Although distinctions between the two species aren’t glaringly obvious. Short-finned Pilot whales (pictured above) prefer the warm, tropical waters whereas long-finned pilot whales (pictured below) tend to frequent cold waters.
Pilot whales are extremely social creatures and are most likely to stay with the pod they were born into, throughout their lifetime.
Image source: Pixabay
