Only five whales out of 150 survive mass stranding
Nearly 150 short-finned pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a West Australian beach, with authorities warning their carcasses could bring sharks to the area.
Just seven whales remained alive less than 12 hours after the mammals were spotted at Hamelin Bay on the state's southwest coast on Friday morning by a commercial fisherman.
The surviving whales were later placed in shallow water but it was difficult to move them further out as they were surrounding by the dead whales, and because of the beach's rocky terrain and rough seas.
On Saturday, WA's Parks and Wildlife Service posted on Facebook that of the six released into the sea after Friday's final count, only five had survived.
It added, "Unfortunately one of the whales re-stranded last night and had to be euthanised".
"It is possible that the whales could come back into shore and re-strand. This has often been the case in previous mass strandings," the department wrote.
"The conditions are challenging but we are doing all we can to give these animals the best chance of survival without risking the safety of staff and volunteers," Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controller Jeremy Chick said in a statement late on Friday afternoon.
Boats were used to get them out into deeper water and the team will monitor the whales to make sure they do not restrand themselves.
The beach remained closed between the Hamelin Caravan Park to North Point after a shark alert was issued for the area.
Parks and Wildlife Service officers were working to remove the carcasses, taking DNA samples to collect clues about why whales strand.
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WA's largest mass stranding involved 320 long-finned pilot whales at Dunsborough in 1996.
Nine short-finned pilot whales were found dead at Albany's Ledge Point in November 1984, while 38 became stranded in April 1991 at Sandy Point, north of Broome.
Anyone attempting to assist beached whales should not stand close to the tail or head, or block the blowhole. They also should avoid applying sunscreen to the whale or trying to push it back out to sea.
It's advised anyone who comes across a beached whale should avoid making noise, keep the whale's skin moist with buckets of water and follow the instructions of wildlife officers.
