Wellington, A group of up to 145 pilot whales
have died after becoming stranded on a beach on Stewart Island in
New Zealand.
The animals were discovered by a walker late on Saturday,
strewn along the beach of Mason Bay.
Authorities said half the whales had already died by then while
the other half were put down as it would have been too difficult to save
them.
In separate incidents, 12 pygmy whales and a sperm whale also
beached in New Zealand over the weekend.
The pilot whales were beached in two pods about 2km (1.2 miles)
apart on a remote beach on Rakiura or Stewart Island off the coast of
South Island.
There are hopes that the remaining eight can still be rescued
and efforts are under way by local marine mammal charity Project
Jonah.
The group said it planned to re-float the whales on Tuesday and
has asked for volunteers to help, the BBC news reported.
Source: Oman News Agency