Australian authorities eutananize about 90 false killer whales that have survived a massive load on a remote beach.
A team of experts at the site said the complex conditions had made it impossible to save them.
They are part of a pod of 157 whales that sailed near the Arthur River, to the northwest of the island. The rest had died shortly after drilling.
Tasmania has been watching a series of mass whales in recent years – including the oldest so far in the country in 2020 – but fake whales have not been massively stuck there for more than 50 years.
False murderer whales are technically one of the largest dolphins in the world, such as their orca namesake. They can grow up to 6 m (19 feet) and weigh 1.5 tonnes.
Authorities on Wednesday said the pod had been stuck in place from 24 to 48 hours and the surviving animals were already supported.
Local resident Jocelyn Flint told the Australian broadcast corporation that she had traveled to the site on Wednesday morning after her son noticed the pod as she went out to fishing for a shark overnight.
“There are babies … There are only families of them. Their eyes are open, they look at me as” help. “
“It's just absolutely horrifying.”
The site – about 300 km from the city of Loncheston – is extremely difficult to access and transport any rescue equipment to the marine biologist Chris Carlion in front of the media.
“This is probably the most complex place I have seen in 16 years to play this role in Tasmania,” he said.
“We are talking about a very rude, steep, single road to the site. We can put four -wheel drive there, but not many others.”
The rough conditions meant to return the animals to the sea to the place they were affected, so it was impossible, so an expert team tried to move two and to redirect them, but it was unsuccessful.
“Animals just can't go through the break to get out. They just continue to turn and go back to the beach,” said Shelley Graham of the Tasmania service and the wildlife service.
With the conditions for the next two days, the forecast is similar, the veterinary veterinary people of the wild made the decision “difficult” and “straightening” the euthanization of other whales.
“The longer these animals are, the longer they suffer. All alternative options have been unsuccessful, euthanasia is always a last resort,” said Dr. Carlion.
This gloomy task – which includes animal shooting – is expected to start on Wednesday but continue on Thursday.
Authorities are still developing how to dispose of corpses. The site has an important cultural heritage for the Aboriginal people, so that the spokesman of the department has earlier suggested that “it may be a case of … letting nature go its course.”
Authorities asked public members to avoid the site, with bugs burning nearby and limited access to the road.
More than 80% of Australian whales are held in Tasmania – often on its west coast.
About 470 pilot whales had stuck south at the Macquari port in 2020. And about 350 of them died despite the rescue efforts. Another 200 became stuck in the same port in 2022.S
Whales are highly social mammals and are well known for sticking to groups because they travel to large, close communities that rely on constant communication.
There are a number of theories why beaches appear. Some experts say that animals can disorient themselves after following a fish that hunt ashore.
Others believe that an individual can mistakenly lead whole groups on the shore.