17 whales die on Florida beach

Updated
17 whales die on Florida beach
17 whales die on Florida beach

PA


A pod of 17 whales has died after becoming beached at Avalon Beach State Park in Florida on Saturday morning.

Conservation experts and members of the public managed to save five calves and young whales, which were transported to Florida Atlantic University's Harbour Beach Institute for rehabilitation.

Despite a day-long rescue attempt, the other whales died of natural causes or were euthanized.

Allison Garrett, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service said: "It was not possible to rehabilitate them."

Sky News reports that a total of 22 short-finned pilot whales came ashore near Fort Pierce on the South Florida Atlantic coast.

They normally stay in deep waters where they feed on squid and octopus and experts aren't yet sure why the mass beaching occurred.

The Daily Mail reports that Ms Garrett said: "Pilot whales are very social animals. One scenario could be one of the animals was sick. They won't leave (a sick whale). They'll stay together."

For this reason, Blair Mase, stranding coordinator for NOAA's Southest Region, said that it's pointless to attempt to push the whales back into the water.

He said: "If you push them into the water, they'll just keep coming back and stranding themselves again."

Hundreds of local residents came to the beach to help with the rescue attempt. They helped the whales to turn upright so that they could breathe more easily and covered them with water and moist towels to prevent dehydration. Despite their efforts, rescuers were aware that most of the whales were dying.

Click on the image below to see some underwater scenes from St Kilda...

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