100 Whales, Dolphins Dead In New Zealand After Mass Stranding. All Thanks To Climate Change
About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800 km (497 miles) off New Zealand's east coast, officials said.??
Most of them were stranded during the weekend but rescue efforts have been hampered by the remote location of the island.
New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC) said in total 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, adding that they were notified of the incident on Sunday.
DOC biodiversity ranger Jemma Welch said due to the remote location and a power outage making it difficult to contact people, it was 3pm by the time rangers arrived at the scene at Waitangi West Beach.?
Welch said in a statement, "Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak. They were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this¡±.??
The islands ¨C home to just more than 600 people ¨C are known as a whale stranding ¡°hotspot¡±, with the largest ever stranding in New Zealand¡¯s history recorded on its beaches in 1918.?
What is mass stranding??
The term stranding refers to an aquatic animal observed in an inappropriate location, for example, an offshore species found inshore. Most often, stranded animals are found on a beach or in shallow water. When three or more animals strand together in time and place, it is called a mass stranding.?
One of the most common patterns with mass strandings is that one or two whales will initially strand. These animals will send out distress signals and members from their pod may attempt to help or mill slightly off-shore. A receding tide will then catch these animals out and soon the whole pod will become stranded.?
Why whales strand?
Concrete information on why whales strand remains elusive, but sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather are all thought to contribute, according to DoC.
Climate change is to blame too, scientists believe,?with warming ocean temperatures moving whales¡¯ prey closer to the shore and forcing them to pursue their food into shallow waters.
On average, more than 300 dolphins and whales strand on New Zealand beaches each year. According to local Indigenous tribes, whale strandings are becoming bigger and more complex, with more deaths occurring.
