More than 100 long-tailed pilot whales stranded along the Western Australian coast have returned to the ocean, with 29 dead on the shore, wildlife officials said Thursday.
Pia Courtis, regional wildlife officer for the Western Australian Parks and Wildlife Department, said in a press conference posted by the department on social media on Thursday that authorities were working to remove 29 dead whales from the beach. Ta. The agency planned to take biological samples and measurements from the dead whale for research.
After marine officials and volunteers helped return the other whales to the sea, boats took to the water and surveillance planes monitored the area to make sure the whales didn't return to shore.
Four pods containing 160 pilot whales were scattered across about 1,640 feet of shore at Tobey Inlet near the town of Dunsborough, Western Australia, on Thursday morning, local wildlife officials announced on social media. It is said that he was
Photos shared by Wildlife Conservation on Facebook showed a line of whales lying on the shore as crowds gathered to watch the mass stranding.
The rescued whale moved further offshore on Thursday and was last seen moving north, the wildlife agency said.
“It's doing well so far. It hasn't returned to shore yet, but we'll continue to monitor it,” Courtis said.
Officials said it was unclear what caused the stranding, but that the animals involved were mostly adult females and several calves. In general, experts theorize that such strandings may be caused by whale pods pursuing sick or stranded whales and becoming stranded themselves. Disruption caused by human-induced undersea noise. or an attempt to avoid a predator.
Australia has experienced several mass strandings in recent years.
In July, a flock of about 100 long-tailed pilot whales became stranded in shallow water off a remote coast of Western Australia. More than 50 people died, and the rest were later euthanized.
One of Australia's deadliest strandings occurred in 2020, when 470 whales washed up on the Tasmanian coastline. Most of them died.
Pilot whales can grow up to 24 feet long and weigh up to 6,600 pounds. When pilot whales become stranded, rescuers are often in a race against time, as the weight of the whale's body can crush its internal organs once it emerges from the water.
Pilot whales, some with short fins and others with long fins, are known to be social animals, with hundreds of whales divided into closely knit pods of 10 to 20, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They tend to live in large groups. .
Experts said the mass strandings on the coast showed the whales' strong social bonds.