Mass strandings of whales over past the few days at Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island

[Emily]

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/wh...120-313hx.html

73 whales beached in New Zealand

Date January 19, 2014



A group of 73 whales have stranded on Farewell Spit at the top of New Zealand's South Island and 20 have died.

Whales have been stranding at the spit for days - 68 were stranded on Saturday night, seven of which were dead, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said...

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/wh...#ixzz2r1cnjDBY

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Mass strandings of whales over past the few days at Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island

This from Project Jonah

Why do whales strand ...
New Zealand?s long, contorted coastlines undoubtedly have a role to play. Long fingers of land jut out to open sea and in many places deep water comes close to shore. Shallow beaches with big tidal ranges provide areas where whales can swim at high tide but get caught at low tide. Golden Bay in Nelson is a classic whale trap. This curving bay with shallow-sloping beaches and a large tidal range has witnessed hundreds of strandings.

More available at this link http://www.projectjonah.org.nz/Stran...trandings.html

[Emily]

Re: Mass strandings of whales over past the few days at Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/n...away-from-spit

Whales swimming away from spit
Praise for Project Jonah Volunteers
SARAH DUNN
Last updated 13:00 22/01/2014

A pod of whales that have been refloated three times since the weekend may have a happy ending after all, but the rescues have not been without danger. ...