500 Pilot Whales Die After Stranding Near the Shark-Infested Waters of New Zealand
Tamzin Henderson
Nearly 500 whales washed up on a remote island chain in the South Pacific over the weekend.
Two separate mass-stranding events were reported by residents of the Chatham Islands.
Daren Grover, general manager of rescue organization Project Jonah, told CNN that most of the pilot whales were already dead when they came ashore, and that the survivors were in poor health and ultimately euthanized.
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Dave Lundquist, a marine technical adviser for New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said that their organization does not attempt to refloat stranded whales due to the risk of shark attacks in the area.
Tamzin Henderson
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According to CNN, the Chatham Islands are among the top three "stranding hotspots" in New Zealand. It is common for pilot whales to become stranded, but the behavior is not well understood.
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Tamzin Henderson
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"It's incredibly remote – one of the smallest self-contained populations on the planet," Grover said of the area in which the whales came ashore. "So the information of 250 whales stranding on their shores there, that's a tragedy almost beyond imagination."
This weekend's incident comes less than one month after 14 whales washed up dead on the shores of King Island, the outlying island group of New Zealand, and 200 stranded themselves on Tasmania. Previously, 145 whales died about 900 miles south after stranding themselves on Stewart Island in New Zealand in 2018.
