At least 20 pilot whales stranded on New Zealand beach, two returned to sea so far

Stranding on the Wairarapa coast

The New Zealand Department of Conservation reported on Thursday, 5 November, that at least 20 pilot whales had stranded on a beach along the Ngawi coast, near Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island. The agency said it was working with the local iwi, a Māori tribe, and with Project Jonah, an organisation that specialises in rescuing stranded whales. Local residents told Radio New Zealand that as many as 50 whales had come ashore during the night. The sources give no final total, and the count is still moving.

Rescue effort

So far, only two whales have been returned to open water, according to the Department of Conservation. Project Jonah said in a Facebook post that four whales were still alive, and that medical assessments were under way before any refloating at the high tide that afternoon, if deemed necessary. Reuters reported that most of the animals had probably succumbed to their injuries, while volunteers kept the survivors alive with buckets of water and towels. Ngawi resident Rob Bargh told Radio New Zealand that the surviving whales were in their final moments and that the scene was horrible.

Stranded, at least (Department of Conservation)20

Stranded overnight, up to (local residents)50

Returned to open water so far2

Still alive (Project Jonah)4

Stranded, at least (Department of Conservation)

20 whales

Stranded overnight, up to (local residents)

50 whales

Returned to open water so far

2 whales

Still alive (Project Jonah)

4 whales

Data from the article text

Conflicting reports on the numbers

Il Messaggero reported that volunteers had worked to return at least 14 pilot whales to open water, a figure that no other outlet in the cluster reported. The other outlets put the number returned at two. The Italian paper also cited marine doctor Nikki Carmichael, who said many of the whales were dead and that some had already been carried out to the open sea by currents, which made it hard to locate every animal on the shore. The difference is best read as a gap between an early effort count and the official tally of returns, and the sources do not settle it.

Cause and wider context

The reports do not establish why the whales stranded, and the cause is still unknown. Articles note that mass strandings of this kind are fairly frequent in New Zealand and neighbouring Australia, where large pilot whale populations live in deep water around the two islands. The initial announcements came from the Department of Conservation and were carried by several outlets over the course of the morning. Further updates on the survivors and on the count of dead animals had not been published in the sources at the time of writing.