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AROUND THE WORLD 1: Beached Whales Rescued in New Zealand

One-hundred fifty-nine pilot whales beached themselves on a remote beach in New Zealand on January 8, but rescue workers were able to save 39 of them.

Rescue workers flew to the beach on Stewart Island, the southernmost island of New Zealand, in a helicopter after learning about the beached pilot whales. When they arrived, 80 of the whales had already died. The rescuers covered the living whales in sheets and tried to keep them wet to protect them from the heat. They also dug trenches around the whales and pushed them over to turn them upright, afraid the whales might not be able to breathe if their blowhole was upside-down.

When high tide came, the workers pushed the whales out to sea and then herded them further out with small boats. Some of the pilot whales became disoriented and returned to the beach, and then the rescue workers had to guide them out to the water again. The next morning they used planes to check and make sure the rescued whales were still out at sea.

Pilot whales beach themselves fairly often. Scientists are not sure why, but think it may be when they make mistakes navigating or when they follow a sick whale too near the shore. They swim toward shore and when the tide goes down they become stranded on the beach and usually die in the sun. One of the worst beachings was on the same island in New Zealand in 1998, when around 300 pilot whales died.

Pilot whales look like dolphins and are small for whales, growing up to 16 feet long and weighing three tons.

--Written by Andrew Barker

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