Farewell Spit: Volunteers scramble to rescue hundreds of whales stranded on New Zealand beach
Close to 416 pilot whales beached themselves near the base of Farewell Spit in New Zealand.
On Friday, the Department of Conservation (DOC) staff and over 500 volunteers in New Zealand came out on a rescue mission after 416 pilot whales were discovered stranded near the base of Farewell Spit overnight.
When they were found in the morning almost 300 were already dead, the DOC stated in a press release.
An attempt to refloat 100 whales during a high tide at 10:30 am was only partially successful, as only 50 whales went out swimming in the bay.
The remaining approximately 90 were re-stranded on the beach and will be kept comfortable by volunteers until dark.
A second attempt to refloat the remainder will take place on Saturday.
Takaka Operations Manager Andrew Lamason acknowledged the great work done by whale rescue group Project Jonah. "Project Jonah has been doing a fantastic job organising the volunteers, providing instruction and safety briefings, and even managing the carparking issues," he said.
"This is the largest number in recorded history on mainland NZ," Project Jonah's Daren Grover told Checkpoint.
New Zealand is reported to have one of the highest rates of whale strandings globally, according to Project Jonah. While the cause is not yet known, it is thought to be a combination of contributing factors as old, sick and injured whales are especially vulnerable. Navigational errors among pods particularly when looking for food or coming close to the shoreline when trying to escape predators like orcas is also a common cause.