More than 150 whales condemned to die after being stranded on a beach in Tasmania
Experts have tried to help the 90 remaining specimens, but have been unable to do anything.
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BarcelonaA total of 157 whales have died or will be euthanized after being stranded on a beach in the northwest of Tasmania, an island south of Australia. Specifically, according to local authorities, they are false killer whales, a species of cetacean known for being the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. Once located, different teams made up of veterinarians expert in wild animals and marine conservationists have moved to them to try to save about 90 whales that were still surviving in the sand.
But it has not been possible. A statement from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tasmania explains that the bad weather conditions have not helped them. Nor has the high level of stress they were suffering after having been stuck. The sixty remaining false killer whales of the group were already dead when the experts arrived at the beach, located in the small municipality of Arthur River. "All remaining whales will be euthanized. The longer they are stuck, the more they will suffer. All alternative options have proven unsuccessful. Euthanasia is always a last resort," said biologist Kris Carlyon.
Why does it happen?
Mass strandings of whales on the island of Tasmania are not unusual. There have been several in recent years. In fact, in 2020, the worst in history in the area occurred: 470 black-headed whales were stranded in the west of the island. Only a hundred were saved, which returned to the open sea. What is no longer so common is that false killer whales come so close to the coast. In Tasmania, there had not been a stranding of this animal in more than fifty years.
The reason is still unknown and the theories studied by the scientific community are diverse. There are those who believe that whales come to the coasts attracted by sonars of large ships. Being social animals that move in groups, there are also those who believe that the groups that get lost could have been following a disoriented specimen that, due to some disease, had moved to shallow waters.