Nearly 100 Pilot Whales Die After Mass Stranding in New Zealand

By Staff, Agencies

Ninety-seven pilot whales and thee dolphins died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands in New Zealand, the national Department of Conservation [DOC] said on Wednesday.

The mass stranding was reported to the department on Sunday.

"Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanized due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this", DOC Biodiversity Ranger Jemma Welch said, as quoted in a press release.

Another two whales stranded by Monday morning and also had to be euthanized, according to the authorities.

Mass strandings are common on the remote archipelago. The record stranding was registered in 1918 when up to 1,000 marine animals died as a result.