65 pilots whales in mass stranding die, South Island, New Zealand

By Paul Harper

Wednesday Nov 16, 2011

All of the pilot whales which stranded at the top of the South Island have now died, the Department of Conservation has confirmed.

DoC has confirmed all the whales found stranded at Farewell Spit have now died. Photo / file

The pod of more than 60 stranded whales were found by a Farewell Spit tour guide on Monday evening.

DOC rangers found 20 dead whales and one whale in a poor condition was euthanised.

Yesterday morning the rangers found another 44 whales stranded nearby, 2-3 kilometres from shore, 34 of which were alive and 10 dead.

Department of Conservation Golden Bay Area Manager John Mason said another 16 whales have died since yesterday morning and staff made the decision this morning to euthanise the remaining 18 whales.

“We had wanted to give the whales a chance to refloat and hopefully find …

nzherald.co.nz

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31 Pilot Whales Lie Dead, 34 Others May Die, Golden Bay, New Zealand
To Mass Animal Death on Monday, November 14, 2011

Pilot whales all dead after NZ stranding

Updated: 2011-11-16

(Xinhua)

WELLINGTON – A pod of 34 pilots whales stranded for the last two days at the top of New Zealand’s South Island are all dead, conservation officials announced Wednesday.

Sixteen of the whales had died since Tuesday morning and Department of Conservation (DOC) staff euthanized the remaining 18 to end their suffering, said DOC Golden Bay Area Manager John Mason.

The deaths bring the total number of whales killed in the mass stranding to 65.

“We had wanted to give the whales a chance to refloat and hopefully find their way out to sea in the high tides yesterday and overnight. But they re-stranded each time and more whales died, ” said Mason in a statement.

“The whales seem to have come in a little further inshore in each …

chinadaily.com.cn

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