140 Whales Dead After Getting Stranded In New Zealand

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Via CNN

145 whales died today after being found stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand.Authorities were first alerted about  the mass stranding by a hiker who was hiking on Saturday evening. Half of the whales were already dead by the time he found them and the remaining animals were euthanized.

Officials said that the remote location and condition of the surviving whales made it impossible to save them.They added that the likelihood of being able to successfully re-float the remaining whales was extremely low hence their decision to euthanize them.

The reasons why whales and dolphins become stranded on land are because of several reasons including sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator or extreme weather.

The incident is one of a series of recent whale strandings in New Zealand. On Sunday, 10 pygmy killer whales were found stranded on Ninety Mile Beach  in the country’s North Island. Two have since died with efforts still underway to re-float the remaining creatures.In New Zealand  Maori groups are often involved in dismantling and burying the remains of beached whales in accordance with indigenous traditions.
Last year, around 400 pilot whales were beached in Golden Bay on the tip of New Zealand’s South Island in what was believed to be the third largest mass stranding in the country’s history.
The largest is thought to have taken place in 1918, when approximately 1,000 whales stranded themselves on Chatham Islands.

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