More than 50 whales have died and 45 more will be euthanized after a pod of nearly 100 whales became stranded on a beach in Western Australia, officials said.
On Tuesday morning, the pod of long-finned pilot whales were spotted swimming close to Cheynes Beach near the city of Albany, which is on the southern tip of Western Australia. Hours later, a group of 60-70 whales found themselves stuck on the beach, the Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia said in a statement on Facebook.
On Wednesday morning in Australia, which is 14 hours ahead of the eastern time zone in the U.S., the wildlife service said 51 whales died overnight and more than 100 staff personnel and 250 volunteers were trying to keep the remaining 45 whales alive.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions officers and veterinarians later decided to euthanize the remaining whales “to avoid prolonging their suffering,” the wildlife service said on Facebook.
“It was a difficult decision for all involved, however the welfare of the whales had to take precedence,” the wildlife service said. “We thank everyone who assisted with the attempt to save the whales over the last two days.”
Why do pilot whales beach themselves?
Wildlife experts said the unusual behavior could be an indicator of stress or illness within the pod, The Associated Press reported. Pilot whales, which are highly social animals, often have close relationships with their pods throughout their lives.
Cetacean stranding, which is commonly referred to as beaching, is the phenomenon of dolphins and whales stranding themselves on beaches, according to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
“The beaching of a single, live animal is usually the result of sickness or injury. Bad weather, old age, navigation errors and hunting too close to shore also contribute to beachings,” the Florida foundation said on its website. “If one member of the group is sick or in trouble, its distress calls can cause the other members to follow it to the beach, resulting in a mass stranding.”
Similar stranding instances in Australia and New Zealand
In September 2022, more than 200 pilot whales died after a pod stranded itself on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the Australian state’s northwestern coast.
And in October 2022, More than 470 pilot whales died after stranding themselves on two remote beaches in New Zealand, The AP reported.
Contributing: The Associated Press
