Only a few days after 14 sperm whales were discovered beached on an island off the southeast coast, about 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania's west coast.
According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, the pilot whales in the stranded pod on Ocean Beach look to be at least half still alive.
The department reported that a team from the Marine Conservation Programme was putting together whale rescue equipment and leaving for the area.
The whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, according to a local, who also described the stranding as a "massive event."
General Manager of the West Coast Council David Midson recommended people to avoid the area.
The environment department stated that “Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offence to interfere with a carcass.”
Olaf Meynecke, a marine scientist at Griffith University, noted that sperm whales rarely wash ashore. According to him, rising temperatures may also be affecting the ocean currents and the usual feeding grounds of whales.
“They will be going to different areas and searching for different food sources,” according to Meynecke.
“When they do this, they are not in the best physical condition because they might be starving so this can lead them to take more risks and maybe go closer to shore.”
In the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania's northern shore, on King Island, which is a part of the state of Tasmania, fourteen whales were found on Monday afternoon. According to the government, sightings of sperm whales in Tasmania are common.
The largest mass stranding in Australian history occurred two years ago when some 470 long-finned pilot whales were discovered beached on sandbars off Tasmania's west coast. After a week-long effort, 111 of those whales were saved, but the others perished.
(With inputs from PTI)
