A marine rescue operation is unfolding on one of New Zealand’s most isolated coastlines after several pilot whales died following a mass stranding on Farewell Spit, at the northern tip of the South Island.
Long-finned Pilot Whales (image used for illustrative purposes)/Skaw by Mike Pennington/Wikimedia Commons
According to the BBC, the incident began when dozens of long-finned pilot whales came ashore earlier this week. While many were able to return to deeper waters on their own, a smaller group was stranded, leaving rescue teams racing against the tides to save the survivors.
Conservationists and volunteers from marine charity Project Jonah have been working along a roughly one-kilometre stretch of beach, keeping the whales cool and stable as they await the next high tide.
Footage shared by the organisation shows responders dousing the animals with seawater to prevent overheating.
According to Project Jonah, the rescue plan hinges on timing. When the tide rises, teams will attempt to regroup the remaining whales and guide them back out together.
Pilot whales are known for their strong social bonds, and rescuers hope that keeping the animals close will encourage them to swim offshore as a unit.
Support crews from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation have also been deployed to the area, including rangers, a boat and aerial monitoring to watch for further strandings.
Farewell Spit is notorious for these events and has been described by conservation authorities as a natural “whale trap”. Its shallow sandbanks and rapidly shifting tides lie along a major migration route, making it easy for whales to become disoriented.
The area has seen some of the country’s most significant strandings in recent history. In one of the worst incidents, hundreds of pilot whales washed ashore at the same location, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by marine mammals navigating this stretch of coastline.
For now, rescue teams remain on standby, hoping the incoming tide will offer a narrow window to return the remaining whales to the open ocean.
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