Wildlife officials have returned most of the mammals to the sea.
More than 100 whales have stranded on Australia's west coast. Most of them were saved, but 28 mammals died.
This is stated in the materials of CNN and Associated Post.
“160 whales were stranded. On April 25, 130 mammals were returned to the ocean, another 28 animals died,” the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife said.
One of the rescue team members stated that he was amazed at the scale of the situation.
“I was just stunned when I saw a hundred whales on the beach,” said Jan Wiese, who was involved in the whale rescue.
Rescue workers, marine scientists and veterinarians have made significant progress, he said. Usually, out of 100 whales stuck offshore, only 5-6 individuals can be saved. For other animals, euthanasia is used as a more humane method to alleviate their suffering.
The beach was closed to the public, and dead whales were pulled out of the water so that their bodies would not attract sharks. Scientists also took tissue samples from dead mammals for research to rule out potential causes of strandings, in particular infectious diseases.
The exact reason why the whales threw themselves onto the birch trees is still unknown. According to scientists, gently sloping sandy beaches and human-made noise can confuse the animals' navigation systems. Other possible causes include trying to avoid predators such as killer whales, or following sick members of the pod to shore.
Recall that polar explorers from the station “Akademik Vernadsky” for the first time documented a meeting with the fin whale – the second largest whale in the world.
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