At least 31 short-finned dolphins have washed ashore and died in New Zealand’s South Island.
Animal protection specialists spotted the washed-up dolphins on Thursday. On Friday, rescue teams managed to nurse five dolphins who had survived the night in deeper waters, but two of them later washed ashore again and had to be euthanized to lessen their suffering, conservation campaigners told BBC News.
Similar mass extinctions of dolphins occur regularly in the Farewell Spit section of the Sandy Coast. According to local authorities, it is a very sad but normal phenomenon.
It is not entirely clear why bottlenose dolphins beach themselves, but based on experience, they are more susceptible to this than other species.
A 26-kilometre stretch of sand, the Farewell Spit extends into the sea and is a frequent site for beaches, although scientists have not yet found a satisfactory explanation for this. One theory is that the shape of the sandbar may confuse the dolphins’ direction. Last year, about 50 bottlenose dolphins washed ashore in this section, and 28 were rescued.
The most tragic delinquency occurred in 2017, when approx 700 specimens were stranded, of which 250 died. In the past 15 years, no less than 11 mass strandings have occurred in the area.
(MTI)
