At Farewell Spit, New Zealand, more than 200 people mobilized on Thursday and Friday, 9 January, to help a pod of whales stranded on the beach.
The wave of solidarity paid off. On Thursday, 8 January, the marine animal protection organization Project Jonah New Zealand was alerted to the stranding of 53 whales on two isolated beaches of South Island’s Farewell Spit. The organization quickly issued a call for help on Facebook, asking locals to assist in keeping the whales hydrated until the tide returned.
Throughout the afternoon, about 200 people remained at the whales’ side, and by the end of Thursday, 38 had managed to return to the open sea. Project Jonah New Zealand teams and dozens of volunteers returned at daybreak on Friday, 9 January, to assist the remaining stranded whales. Unfortunately, six had died, the organization reported on Facebook.
Whales Guided Back to Sea
The rescue continued for the remaining whales. Good news: “This afternoon, nearly 200 people spent four hours in the water guiding a group of 15 pilot whales back to sea. The whales slowly but surely made their way offshore (with some encouragement) and were last seen 1.3 km from the beach, heading southwest toward Collingwood,” rejoiced Project Jonah New Zealand.
Speaking to RNZ, the Department of Conservation explained that Farewell Spit is “a whale trap” and that many marine mammals are regularly found stranded there. The area forms a hook around the northern entrance of Golden Bay, creating extensive intertidal mudflats bordered by shallow waters offshore. Whales can easily be deceived and trapped by these gentle-sloping mudflats combined with a fast ebb tide.
Tragically, “pilot whales have very strong social bonds, and if one heads into shallow waters, the rest of the group will follow due to their natural instinct to care for each other.”
