About 240 whales have died after stranding on a beach in the Chatham Islands, 840 kilometers from New Zealand’s South Island, in the second strand of cetaceans in less than a week that has killed nearly half a thousand animals, official. Sources confirmed this Tuesday (10.11.2022).
New Zealand’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that its teams had reported earlier in the day at Waihere Bay on Pit Island, known as Rankiuria (by its Maori name).
The remaining whales, whose number is unknown, were euthanized to avoid “extreme suffering” as their internal controls prohibit them from refloating in the remote Chatham Islands due to the risk of attacks by crew and injured mammals.
“This decision is never taken lightly, but it is the best option in cases like this,” Dave Lundquist, the ministry’s technical advisor for marine affairs, was quoted as saying in the memo. He further explained that Pitt is “New Zealand’s most remote uninhabited island” so “communications are limited and logistics are challenging.”
Many marine mammals, including whales and dolphins, frequently strand on the beaches of South Australia and New Zealand, and experts are unable to clarify the reasons. These incidents are believed to be caused by disease, navigational errors, sudden changes in tides, the pursuit of predators or extreme weather.
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