Wildlife

Whale Stranding – Australia

Australian wildlife officials began disposing hundreds of dead pilot whales on Saturday, Sep. 26 after concluding there was no longer any hope of rescuing any more.

In Australia’s biggest whale beach, 470 whales were first spotted on a wide sandbank during an aerial reconnaissance in Tasmania on Sep. 21.

After days of difficult and dangerous rescue attempts, wildlife officials said they rescued 108 whales, with the rest now believed to have died.

Whales are very social marine mammals, and they typically travel together. The whales are believed to have gotten stuck and stranded together in the area, and were not able to get out.

The bodies of the dead whales are being separated into groups and enclosed with water booms to try keep them in one place- and isolated from sharks and other predators.