140 stranded pilot whales die on Farewell Spit beach in New Zealand

#strandedwhale #pilotwhales #farewellspit #newzealand Nearly 140 pilot whales stranded on Farewell Spit, a New Zealand beach on the northern tip of South Island have died, as reported in news.sky.com dated 14 February 2015. It seems the whales beached themselves and teams of rescuers tried to re-float the mammals on the evening high tide, but they swam aground again overnight in site of them being escorted out to deeper water.
There are another 60 whales and rescuers would once again try to re-float them at high tide later on Saturday, but in case that attempt fails, the whales might be euthanized.
As has been explained by Andrew Lamason, from the Department of Conservation (DOC), the area known as Farewell Spit located around 95 miles west of Nelson, has seen mass pilot whale stranding in the past. The area has been described as a whale trap because of its shallow waters that appear to confuse the animals and reduce their ability to navigate.
It is presumed that they come to hunt for fish and become disorientated and die. Every time they re-strand, it affects their health and there were plenty of young whales among the dead.