September 22,2020

Andrew Campbell 

On September 22, rescuers raced to save mass pilot whales stranded on a sandbar at Macquarie Harbour near Strahan, a small town in Tasmania, an island-state off the southern coast of mainland Australia. According to the Tasmanian Marine Conservation Program, more than 60 rescuers including local fish-farm workers, police, volunteers, and the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service are involved in the rescue operation by keeping the whales wet and cool first. By the end of September 21, about a third of the animals were reportedly dead. Rescuers attempted to maneuver the pilot whales off the sandbar and escorted them into the deeper water for a greater level of buoyancy.

It remains unclear what caused the mass pilot whales to wash up onshore. In the past, there have been a few other mass whale stranding events in locations nearby. Experts theorize the whales may be drawn in after feeding close to the sandbar; or a few whales may have wandered too close to the coast in simple misadventure leading the other whales to follow.

Tasmania is the only Australian state where events of mass whales and dolphins stranding occur on a regular basis, according to the statistics from Tasmania’s Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment. This scale of whale stranding incident was second to the largest one ever in Tasmania, with294 whales stranded in 1935.

Photo:Webshot.