At least 90 pilot whales are dead, stranded on the sandbar off the remote west coast of the Australian island of Tasmania on Monday. A rescue operation to save the pilot whales—270 in total, led by Marine biologists is underway. Pilot whales are a species of oceanic dolphin that grows 7 metres (23 ft) long and can weigh up to 3 tonnes, a Reuters report reads.
"While strandings are not uncommon in Tasmania, and while strandings of this scale aren't (unprecedented), we certainly haven't had one for at least 10 years," Nic Deka, a regional manager for Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, said.
It is unclear as to what might have drawn the whales to shore— a sighting in large numbers as these haven’t taken place in a decade. Rescuing the whales might take a few days as Marine Biologists have said the process is tricky.
Whale and dolphin stranding are reported usually once every two or three weeks in Tasmania. The whales, according to Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, were stranded in three groups in shallow water at Macquarie Heads.
When viewed from the air, the mass it seemed to government officials like the mass stranding had around 70 whales, but on closer inspection, they realised that the numbers were higher.
It isn’t clear why whales beach themselves— scientists say they are known to follow a leader as they migrate and their strong social skills could be why they have been beached in such large numbers.
