Stranded Whales

On Farewell Spit on the South Island (a beach in New Zealand), 99 pilot whales stranded themselves on Monday. 36 of the whales died by Tuesday, and 40 remain stranded and in danger. John Mason, area manager of the country's Department of Conservation said that the staff and volunteers had successfully refloated 17 of the whales. They swam out to deeper water, but 6 whales are still unaccounted for. The whales had been swimming in shallow water when the tide went out and stranded them. The volunteers and staff are trying to keep the whales wet and cool until nightfall comes. After that, they can only hope that the whales swim out to sea on the next high tide. These whales grow to be about 20 feet. Large strandings are a common occurrence during the New Zealand summer. Farewell Spit shallow waters confuse whales and diminishes their ability to navigate. Rescuers are planning on donning wetsuits and forming a human wall to try to keep the whales from coming back in case of them getting stranded again.

This is really sad! Those poor whales can get back to sea, and more may die before the next high tide comes.

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10222791-dozens-of-whales-die-in-mass-stranding-on-new-zealand-beach