A pod of more than 150 false killer whales have been involved in a mass stranding on a remote beach in north-western Tasmania – and, because the 90 or so that had not already died were under so much stress, they are now having to be put down by environment department officials.
The isolated Arthur River site, about 300km from Launceston, has proved difficult for rescuers to access with their vehicles and equipment.
Also read: Disentangled, but sperm whale dies off Skye
Attempts to refloat the whales in the prevailing sea conditions, which are expected to remain rough for the next few days, have been unsuccessful, with the weakened cetaceans unable to swim past the break and being washed back in.
The Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service said that euthanasia for all the remaining whales had been agreed as a last resort, carried out by shooting on the basis of expert wildlife veterinarian assessments to prevent further suffering for the animals.
More than 80% of Australian whale strandings are reported to occur in Tasmania, though it is more than half a century since false killer whales mass-stranded there. Pilot whales are more often involved.
False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are smaller and slimmer than killer whales and lack their white patches – the name derives from similarities in the shape of the skull. The species can grow up to 6m long and weigh 1.5 tonnes.
Line-injured humpback dies in Scotland
Meanwhile, after two reports on Divernet recently (see below) of humpback whales being rescued from rope entanglements off Scotland’s Isle of Skye, a young male humpback has washed up dead on the western mainland showing signs of entanglement injuries.
The carcass was spotted on the Kintyre peninsula between Claonaig and Skipness on 15 February, and it appeared to have been a previously healthy animal.
There were “very deep wounds around its fluke and other lighter rope marks”, said Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) volunteer Phil Dickinson. “The initial conclusion is that it died from drowning whilst entangled.”
Also on Divernet: VOLUNTEERS FREE TETHERED WHALE IN SKYE, ANOTHER HUMPBACK WHALE FREED OFF SKYE, SPAT OUT: WHY WHALES WON’T SWALLOW HUMANS
