230 whales were found stranded on the wild and remote west coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania.
The pod stranded on Ocean Beach appears to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said
Another five whales died overnight, leaving 35 still alive on the beach. Rescuers who spent yesterday righting whales and keeping them wet have focused on returning them to the sea today
The incident occurred at the same harbour on the same day of the year as Australia’s worst-ever stranding in 2020.
Hundreds of pilot whales became stranded yesterday at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, known as Hells Gates.
“Unfortunately we do have a high mortality rate, predominantly due to the exposed conditions on the beach,” Mr Clark said.
It was two years to the day since Australia’s worst recorded whale stranding, also in the same harbour with the same species.
Most of the whales are stranded on Ocean Beach while some are on a nearby sand flat within the harbour.
At a press conference of Thursday, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service incident controller Brendon Clark said five whales died overnight, leaving just 35 still alive on the beach this morning.
He said the whales were in a more exposed area of the coast, unlike the stranding in 2020, which happened in “sheltered waters of the harbour” — now considered the worst stranding event in Australia’s history.
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