At least 135 short-finned pilot whales have died following a mass beaching in Western Australia.
Almost all of them have now died, but volunteers and experts are attempting to save the remaining few. There’s a risk the carcasses will attract sharks and this has caused the authorities to issue warnings against swimming in the area, The Guardian reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The strength of the animals and the windy and possibly wet weather conditions will affect when and where we attempt to move them out to sea,” said Jeremy Chick, an official from the Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. “The main objectives are to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers, as well as the whales’s greatest chance of survival.”
“Most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived,” Chick added.
Melissa Lay, the manager at the Hamelin Bay Holiday Park, told Reuters that it was the second mass stranding she had witnessed during her 15 years in the area.
“There are some that are still alive but barely,” Lay said. “The last time it happened, none survived.”
Whale beachings are a rare but devastating event, the causes of which remain a mystery to scientists. Curtin University marine mammal scientist Bec Wellard told ABC News this week that “one of the theories we do have is that it could be a high risk area. The environment could be the cause of repeated strandings,” she said, adding that man-made noise, an illness within the whale group and naval activity could all be to blame.
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virusUnder The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chopsFeature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
