SYDNEY (Reuters) – Whale rescuers in New Zealand linked arms in neck-deep water on Saturday to try and prevent about 200 pilot whales from stranding themselves again in a remote bay, where 300 of the animals died this week.
The incident, in the shallow muddy waters of Golden Bay, at the northwest tip of South Island, was New Zealand’s largest known whale stranding since 1985, when 450 of the animals were stranded in Auckland, and the third largest on record.
A group of about 100 volunteers, supported by three boats, successfully turned the whales away from shore by blocking their path, conservation officials said in a statement.
By mid-afternoon, the whales had moved offshore and were being monitored by boat as the tide dropped.
Although about 100 whales stranded overnight were floated just after dawn, a fifth of that number beached themselves again in the afternoon.
