Whales wash ashore on SA beach
Mystery surrounds the death of seven sperm whales found washed up on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
Six whales were found stranded and dead at Parara Beach, south of Androssan, this morning while a seventh was found dead in shallow water further north.
Another was spotted alive swimming 500 metres off-shore.
Experts said while it is not unusual for sperm whales to be in Gulf St Vincent, a mass beaching is rare.
It is not yet known what caused it but experts said it is likely the pod swam closer to shore when one of the whales got into trouble and signaled for help.
“Because whales are so communal, one of them is in trouble and so goes into shallow waters so it can rest on the bottom and breath more easily, then when the tide goes out it starts calling and all the others come so they get stuck too,” Dr Deb Kelly from the Environment Department.
Authorities are now trying to determine how best to remove the carcasses, but with them weighing up to 50 tonnes each, it could take some time.
The public has been asked to stay at least 20 metres away from the whales as they will likely attract sharks and could be carrying infectious diseases.
Postmortems will be conducted in a bid to solve the mystery.
News break – December 8
