About 230 pilot whales were seen on the beach on Wednesday. So the nature and environmental authorities declared that about half of them were alive.
On Thursday, only 35 of the roughly 230 whales were still alive, Brendon Clark said. He directs the work of the authorities on the spot.
– We have about 35 surviving animals on the beach. Our main focus this morning will be to rescue and free these animals, “she said.
Unfortunately, we have a high mortality rate in this stranding accident. It’s mostly a consequence of the exposed conditions at Ocean Beach, she added, pointing to the breaking waves.
BRUTAL VIEW: whales lying along the beach. Photo: AP / NTB
sea View
Two years ago the last time
Locals had covered the whales with tarps and poured buckets of water over them to keep them alive after they were found.
RESCUE ATTEMPTS: Locals try to keep the animals alive. Photo: AP / NTB
sea View
Two years ago, the nearby port of Macquarie was hit by the largest mass stranding ever to occur in Australia. It included nearly 500 pilot whales, and over 300 of them died, despite several days of persistent efforts to help them get back to sea.
Conditions at this week’s beaching are worse than they were two years ago when the whales were in calmer waters, Clark points out.
The hell of sports
At both strandings, whales entered through a notoriously shallow and dangerous strait known as Hell’s Gate.
Local salmon farmer Linton Kringle assisted with the rescue in 2020. He says the whales were in deeper water then, so you could reach them by boats.
