Over the weekend, 97 whales and three dolphins were washed up on the shores of the Chatham Islands, an island group 800 kilometres off New Zealand. Due to its remote location and a power outage over the weekend, the rescue group only arrived by Sunday afternoon.
By that time, most of the animals had already died. Another 28 pilot whales and the three dolphins had to be euthanized due to the rough sea condition and the great white sharks in the water that get attracted by such stranding events.
The dead animals were blessed by representatives from the Indigenous Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust. The bodies will be left on the beach to decompose naturally.
The Chatham Islands are a hotspot for cetacean strandings, especially for the abundant and highly social pilot whales. Particular reasons for the stranding could not yet be identified.
The full article can be found here: Nearly 100 whales die in mass stranding in New Zealand - CNN
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