PŪPONGA, New Zealand (CU)_On Thursday night rescuers counted 36 pilot whales stranded on Farewell Spit, on the South Island of New Zealand. The following morning, when reassessing, the found 34 whales on the beach, with five of them having survived the night. The narrow sand spit is a common site for whale stranding, with over 10 pilot whale strandings reported in the past 15 years.
According to the Department of Conservation, rescuers are working to refloat the five whales who survived, although it would take several hours to determine if the rescue attempt was successful. The agency’s operations manager Dave Winterburn said a member of the public notified the department regarding the stranding at 6pm. It appeared that the marine mammals stranded earlier in the day. However, the rangers were unable to…
