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Some 97 whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, which conservation division workers had been alerted to round noon native time on Sunday.
“Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanized due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this,” biodiversity ranger Jemma Welch mentioned in a press release.
Pilot whales — small, toothed whales with a bulging brow, a brief snout and pointed flippers — are sociable creatures, and stay in teams of dozens, a whole lot and even 1000’s.
Two extra whales had been stranded on Monday and in addition needed to be euthanized, the Department of Conservation mentioned, including that the whales can be left to decompose naturally.
Representatives from the Indigenous Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust carried out a karakii/karakia — a prayer, or incantation — to honor the spirit of the whales on Sunday, the division added.
Mass strandings are frequent on the Chatham Islands, in keeping with the division, which mentioned that as much as 1,000 animals died in a stranding in 1918.
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