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Whale stranding in far North - Source: Submitted by Carolyn Smith -
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A pod of pilot whales stranded on a Northland beach are to be relocated by road for release at another beach because weather and sea conditions have ruled out refloating them where they are.
Department of Conservation (DOC) staff were alerted to the stranding at Spirits Bay about 90km north of Kaitaia at 11.30am this morning after a local spotted the pilot whales on the sand.
Staff counted 74 pilot whales spread across two kilometres of beach, 25 of them dead, others were probably injured from being washed onto rocks. More were becoming stranded and there were up to 50 just offshore.
DOC's operations manager at Spirits Bay, Patrick Whaley, said the department had already had to euthanase some of the weakest and most stressed animals.
Whale rescue organisation Project Jonah has said the weather and sea conditions at Spirits Bay mean refloating of the whales there is not possible.
The decision has therefore been made to relocate the whales by road to Rarawa Beach for release there tomorrow morning, said Project Jonah chair Mark Simpson.
He said volunteers are still needed at Spirits Bay this evening and overnight. Anyone who wants to help is reminded to come prepared for the cold, wet and windy weather.
Help will also be needed at Rarawa Beach tomorrow morning to assist unloading the whales and stabilising them in the water prior to release, Simpson said.
Anyone wanting to assist in the water based release of the animals should come prepared with a wetsuit.
"Those who don't have wetsuits are still welcome as there is lots they can do to assist out of the water."
Volunteers from Project Jonah, Far North Whale Rescue, and other DOC offices in Northland and Auckland, along with members of the local Te Hapua community are bracing themselves for a long night in difficult weather conditions as they try to save the whales.
Kimberly Muncaster, chief executive of Project Jonah, said difficult weather conditions were forecast tonight with howling gales and large sea swells.
Around 30 Project Jonah volunteers were heading up to Spirits Bay from Auckland, with most expected to arrive before 8pm.
This is the second mass whale stranding in the Far North in two months.
In August, a pod of 58 pilot whales became stranded at Karikari beach.
Upon discovery, 43 were already dead. A further six died during the rescue attempt, with nine successfully refloated.
The rescue operation involved a huge volunteer effort.
Do you have any pictures of the whales? Please send them to onlinenews@tvnz.co.nz
