fresh whale stranding on notorious new zealand beach
Tuesday 15 July 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

After hundreds died in a mass beaching

Fresh whale stranding on notorious New Zealand beach

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleFresh whale stranding on notorious New Zealand beach

Volunteers pour water on pilot whales
Farewell Spit - Arab Today

Rescuers defied a shark threat to form a human chain in a New Zealand bay on Saturday in a bid to keep another 200 whales from becoming stranded a day after hundreds died in a mass beaching.

About 150 people waded out up to their necks at Farewell Spit in the northwest of the South Island to form the human wall as they also guided some 100 survivors from Friday's beaching away from the shore.

Environmental group Project Jonah, which is assisting with the rescue mission, described the new arrivals as "a super pod" which "swam into the bay and within 20 metres of the human chain. 

"This pod joined up with the refloated whales of which almost 100 joined the larger pod," the organisation said in a statement.

Andrew Lamason, regional operations manager for the Department of Conservation (DOC) told AFP the focus was on preventing the whales from reaching a beach already littered with more than 300 dead whales. 

The pod was trying to access the area where 416 pilot whales were stranded overnight Thursday, with about 70 per cent already dead when they were found on Friday morning. 

Lamason said they needed to have the survivors far away from the shore before the evening low tide. 

"They are moving along the spit. They are still in shallow water and we have three boats out there trying to turn them," he said. 

"We have 100 who've gone out and they've been joined by another 200 so that's a total of 300 whales out there." 

DOC ranger Mike Ogle told Radio New Zealand the whales could have been frightened into the shallows by a shark. 

One whale had been found with bite wounds and great white sharks were known to be in the area off Farewell Spit, he said.

"There's one carcass out there with some shark bites in it - but not a big one, just a small one, but quite fresh bites so yeah, there's something out there."

Hundreds of volunteers mobilised to help the rescue operation with many working to comfort the stranded animals and keep them cool in the morning heat while they waited to refloat them on the high tide.

Tim Cuff, a marine mammal medic with Project Jonah, told the New Zealand Herald of emotional scenes over the mass deaths.

"It's a pretty sad scene up on the beach where there's a long line of dead whales," he said. 

"One German girl didn't really want to leave her whale. She was crying and had her hand on it."

DOC officials said the carcasses would either be tethered and towed out to sea, or left to decompose in the sand dunes. 

Farewell Spit, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) west of the tourist town of Nelson, is notorious for whale strandings and has witnessed at least nine mass beachings in the past decade. 

"If you designed something to catch whales then Golden Bay is probably the perfect design," Lamason said. 

Pilot whales grow up to six metres (20 feet) long and are the most common species of whale in New Zealand waters. 

Source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

fresh whale stranding on notorious new zealand beach fresh whale stranding on notorious new zealand beach

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 13:15 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Saba Mubarak participates in new show

GMT 09:58 2017 Friday ,31 March

Manatees are no longer endangered: US

GMT 07:26 2017 Sunday ,24 December

Traders in Old Mosul rebuild their ruined market

GMT 15:13 2017 Tuesday ,04 July

Furlong braced for 'brutal' All Black backlash

GMT 10:19 2017 Tuesday ,14 November

Global 2% rise in CO2 'giant leap backwards

GMT 07:25 2017 Monday ,13 February

Grigor Dimitrov wins ATP title in Sofia

GMT 12:34 2017 Saturday ,18 November

U.S promises to remove Sudan from terrorism list

GMT 22:15 2017 Saturday ,15 April

Foreign Minister arrives in Kuwait

GMT 08:26 2013 Friday ,26 July

Khalife\'s talk show proves successful

GMT 10:48 2012 Thursday ,23 February

Aisha seeks death certificate

GMT 17:18 2016 Friday ,09 December

Israeli warplanes launch mock raids over Gaza

GMT 11:44 2012 Monday ,10 December

King Tutankhamen\'s tomb

GMT 22:17 2017 Wednesday ,15 February

Root determined to do things his way as England captain

GMT 07:01 2016 Friday ,19 August

Iran's language watchdog battles 'Nutella Bars'

GMT 08:25 2016 Thursday ,29 December

Swedish PM to visit Iran in February

GMT 17:48 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

President of Uganda Meets Deputy Prime Minister

GMT 10:23 2016 Thursday ,19 May

King Kohli crowned as IPL's highest ever scorer

GMT 16:29 2011 Tuesday ,12 July

Do anti-whaling campaigns backfire in Japan

GMT 02:59 2017 Thursday ,12 January

Emirates challenging us for future A380 version

GMT 13:42 2017 Wednesday ,29 March

Schumacher and piquet’s Grand Prix winner offered

GMT 10:23 2018 Thursday ,18 January

65 Israeli laws that discriminate against non-Jews
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle