A large pod of pilot whales has been euthanised after running aground on Stewart Island.
The
28 whales were discovered yesterday morning and due to the secluded
beach they were on and the high seas they had to be killed.
DOC spokesman Brent Beavan says they cannot get heavy machinery into the remote area so they'll be left to decompose.
"There
is only a small number of people who will pass. We might just let them
know at the start of the track. In a couple of days they'll be pretty
high and pretty rotting so I don't think many people would go near
them."
Mr Beavan says pilot whales bones are not good for carving so they plan to leave them to decompose as well.
WELLINGTON - TWENTY-EIGHT pilot whales have died after they became
stranded on a remote beach in the far south of New Zealand,
conservation officials told local media on Monday.
The whales came ashore at West Ruggedy Beach in the north-east of Stewart Island, Department of Conservation (DOC) manager Mark Townsend told the Southland Times.
The whales were found by a hiker on Sunday morning and DOC staff arrived about an hour later but were unable to save any of them.
The conservation officials found nine whales already dead and there was no alternative to killing the remaining 19, Townsend said.
Brent Bevan, one of the staff at the scene, said stormy seas and strong winds made it impossible to mount a rescue attempt. 'They were in reasonably good health when we got there but the weather conditions were so bad it would have been far too dangerous to try anything,' he told the newspaper.
'If there was a chance we could have saved them, we would have given it a go - but not in those conditions,' he said. Whale beachings are not uncommon on Stewart Island, with almost 160 dying in the last major stranding in 2003. -- AFP
The whales came ashore at West Ruggedy Beach in the north-east of Stewart Island, Department of Conservation (DOC) manager Mark Townsend told the Southland Times.
The whales were found by a hiker on Sunday morning and DOC staff arrived about an hour later but were unable to save any of them.
The conservation officials found nine whales already dead and there was no alternative to killing the remaining 19, Townsend said.
Brent Bevan, one of the staff at the scene, said stormy seas and strong winds made it impossible to mount a rescue attempt. 'They were in reasonably good health when we got there but the weather conditions were so bad it would have been far too dangerous to try anything,' he told the newspaper.
'If there was a chance we could have saved them, we would have given it a go - but not in those conditions,' he said. Whale beachings are not uncommon on Stewart Island, with almost 160 dying in the last major stranding in 2003. -- AFP
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_490559.html
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=170937
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