Stranded whales feared dead in New Zealand’s Stewart Island

More than 100 pilot whales are dead after a stranding on Stewart Island.

A pod of 107 whales was found beached at Mason Bay on the island by two tourists on Saturday. The pair, who had tramped into Mason Bay hut on the west coast of the island on Saturday, found the pod dead and dying at the southern end of the beach near Cavalier Creek. It was the next day before they could raise the alarm via the hut ranger at Mason Bay hut. Two Department of Conservation staff immediately flew to the beach yesterday to assess the situation. Once there, they found the whales in water but stranded high up on the beach with the tide just starting to recede.

Department biodiversity programme manager Brent Beaven said about half of the whales were still alive on arrival and the decision was made to euthanise the remaining 48. It would have been at least 10 to 12 hours before any attempt could be made to refloat them, Mr Beaven said.

A decision to kill 48 pilot whales found stranded on a remote Stewart Island beach had been difficult but there was no alternative, the Department of Conservation (DoC) says.

“We were quickly aware that it would be at least 10 to 12 hours before we could attempt to refloat them and that given the hot, dry conditions many more would soon perish,” a spokesman said

There was also a storm warning which would have added to the dangers of refloating the whales. The whales would be left to decompose naturally on the beach.

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