Sydney [Australia], February 20: Australian authorities are euthanising about 90 false killer whales which survived a mass stranding on a remote beach in Tasmania.
A team of experts at the site said complex conditions have made it impossible to save them. They are part of a pod of 157 whales that had beached near Arthur River, in the island's north west. The rest had died shortly after the stranding.
Tasmania has seen a series of mass whale strandings in recent years - including the country's worst-ever in 2020 - but false killer whales haven't mass stranded there in over 50 years.
False killer whales are technically one of world's largest dolphin species, like their orca namesakes. They can grow up to 6m (19ft) and weigh 1.5 tonnes.
Authorities on Wednesday said the pod had been stranded at the site for 24 to 48 hours, and the surviving animals were already under extreme stress.
Local resident Jocelyn Flint told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she had travelled to the site on Wednesday morning after her son noticed the pod while out shark fishing overnight.
"There are babies... There's just families of them. Their eyes are open, they're looking at me, like 'help'." "It's just absolutely horrific." The site - about 300km (186 miles) from the city of Launceston - is extremely difficult to access and transport any rescue equipment to, marine biologist Kris Carlyon told media.
"This is possibly the trickiest location I've seen in 16 years of doing this role in Tasmania," he said.
"We're talking a very rough, steep, single lane road into the site. We can get four-wheel drives in there, but not a lot else." (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
