In the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, almost a hundred of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding. Most of the mammals beached themselves but cannot be rescued.
What is Mass Stranding?
It is a phenomenon in which cetaceans; most commonly whales strand themselves at beaches. It is believed that they get disoriented and are unable to find a way so they strand themselves at a place and eventually die.
Mass Stranding in New Zealand
Pilot Whales
Pilot whales, the most common species of whale in New Zealand waters, are classified into two major types- Long-finned and short-finned. The Long-finned Whales live in cold waters and short-finned live in tropical and subtropical waters.
The whales, which grow up to six meters long, were named ‘pilot whales’ because the group of whales, also known as pods, were believed to be piloted by a leader. They are also called pothead whales and blackfish.
Australia’s Mass Stranding
In the largest whale stranding of Australia in September 2020, around 450 whales stranded in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast and most of them died. Tasmania experience the largest number of stranding in Australia. Before this, the last mass stranding occurred in 2009 here.