More whales stranded
2005-10-26 13:18
Sydney - More whales stranded themselves on Wednesday on a remote southern Australia beach even as wildlife officials and about 100 volunteers struggled to keep the earlier survivors afloat.
More than 130 pilot whales had died in Marion Bay in the southern island state of Tasmania in the previous 24 hours, and only about a dozen had been saved.
Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Liz Wren said that most of the whales were dead before rescuers arrived on Tuesday because Marion Bay, although only 60km from Hobart, is isolated and easily reachable only by boat.
Seven years ago, 204 pilot whales beached at Marion Bay, and 110 died.
Pilot whales, a type of dolphin, regularly beach in Marion Bay and nearby shores.
It is not known what causes whales to beach themselves. Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife officer Ingrid Albion told Australia's ABC Radio that only one whale needed to come ashore for the rest of a herd to follow.
"They use sonar, so they can get confused when they come into sandy beaches," she said. "Only one of them has to get in trouble and make a wrong turn, and they'll actually call the rest of the pod to them."
She said records showed there were 2 768 strandings up to October 2003 and at least 250 of these had been in Marion Bay.
"I always feel like crying when I go and look at them," she said. "I wished we could have saved them all."
- SAPA