Nearly a hundred "pilot dolphins" have died stranding on the remote islands of Chatam, in southern New Zealand, authorities in charge of biodiversity conservation announced on Wednesday (November 25th).
Most of these cetaceans were stranded this weekend on the beaches of this archipelago located about 500 kilometers east of the South Island, which complicated the rescue operations, according to the biodiversity ministry.
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Jemma Welch, who works for the ministry, said 69 pilot whales had already died when the authorities in charge of wildlife protection arrived.
She said 28 "pilot dolphins" as well as three dolphins had to be euthanized.
Jemma Welch explained that authorities were forced to make such a decision due to heavy seas and the virtual certainty that the stranding would attract great white sharks.
The Maori community held a ceremony in honor of their "soul" as their carcasses decompose naturally, she said.
The Chatham Islands had already experienced New Zealand's largest mass stranding when a thousand cetaceans were stranded in 1918. "Pilot dolphins" can grow up to six meters in length and are a widespread species in the New Zealand waters.
Although studied for decades by scientists, the reasons for these strandings remain unknown.
Pilot whales could deviate by following a sick herd member, researchers say.
Bad weather conditions or the presence of predators could also force them to change their route.
