Chinanews.com, November 25 According to Reuters, New Zealand officials said on the 25th local time that a large-scale grounding occurred in the Chatham Islands, about 800 kilometers from the east coast of New Zealand, killing about 100 pilot whales and dolphins.
Most whales and dolphins were reportedly trapped over the weekend, with a total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins killed. New Zealand environmental officials said that they only received the relevant notice on the 22nd. Rescue work is hampered by the remote location of the Chatham Islands.
According to AFP, biodiversity administrator Jemma Welch said that dozens of whales had died when rescue workers arrived at the beach. Others had to euthanise for some reasons such as physical weakness and poor marine environment.
According to the report, large-scale stranding is more common in the Chatham Islands, and up to 1,000 animals died in a grounding incident in 1918.
At present, the reason why whales ran aground on a large scale are still a mystery. In September 2020, there was also a large-scale stranding of whales in the waters around Tasmania, Australia.
Hundreds of whales died. Due to their large size and difficulty in saving, some unsalable whales were euthanized. Some experts pointed out that the complex waterway and lost due to shallow water or poor sea conditions are all reasons for stranding.
