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Huge Rescue Operation Underway To Save Whales Stranded On Tasmania's West Coast

Marine biologists are racing against the clock to rescue survivors in a mass stranding of whales in Tasmania.

About 500 pilot whales became beached on a sandbar at Macquarie Heads off the remote west coast of the island on Monday, in the largest mass stranding ever recorded in the country.

On Wednesday, 380 whales were confirmed to have died, and 50 had been rescued.

Government scientists said it appeared that at least a third of the animals had already died. Pilot whales are a species of oceanic dolphin that can grow seven metres long and can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms.

Rescuers told a press conference on Tuesday they had developed a triage-style strategy.

Stranded pilot whales are seen in Macquarie Heads, Tasmania, Australia September 21, 2020.
Stranded pilot whales are seen in Macquarie Heads, Tasmania, Australia September 21, 2020.

“We got animals spread over a large area and in really challenging locations. We’re going to basically take the animals with the best chance to start with and the ones that we are able to deal with,” a rescuer known as Chris told reporters.

“We’re going to refloat several animals and assess behaviour. So this entire operation, a lot of it depends on how these animals respond once they got water underneath them and are free-floating.”

Nic Deka, a regional manager for Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, said the delicate operation could take days and there are about 60 people involved.

“We have police assisting us. We got some folk from the fish farm assisting us and also a handful of volunteers,” he told reporters.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service said as long as conditions stay the same and the whales remain wet, the animals could survive up to a few days.

About a third of the 270 stranded whales are believed to already be deceased.
About a third of the 270 stranded whales are believed to already be deceased.

Local helicopter pilot Dave Paton, who is part of the rescue effort, flew overhead to assess the situation.

“We could visibly see them under some sort of stress there. So we tried to minimise the impact in the area,” Paton told ABC’s ‘News Breakfast’ on Tuesday.

“It’s not something you’d like to go out and see on a daily basis at all. There appeared to be two separate groups of pilot whales. A larger...

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