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Mass stranding on Chatham Islands leaves 215 whales dead

October 8, 2022

Roughly 250 pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on the northwest of Chatham Island Friday.

A Department of Conservation (DOC) spokesperson confirmed the deaths Saturday, explaining they could not refloat the animals due to the risk a shark attack posed for both DOC staff and the whales.

"Surviving whales were euthanised by the trained team to prevent further suffering.

"Iwi and imi were present to support."

The whales would be left to decompose naturally.

Whale strandings are not uncommon on the Chatham Islands. In 1918 the biggest recorded stranding saw 1000 pilot whales beached.

New ZealandAnimals

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