Dozens of pilot dolphins, cetaceans that can reach six meters in length, have washed up on a beach at the southwestern tip of Australia with their chances of survival very compromised, local authorities announced.
Twenty-six specimens of these pilot whales have already been found dead, according to the Parks and Wildlife Service of the State of Western Australia, which dispatched “nature protection agents, specialists in the sciences of the sea and veterinarians.
In total, the number of cetaceans stranded on the beach of Toby's Inlet, south of Perth, could reach 160 individuals, according to this source.
Staff will try to tow certain specimens offshore but “euthanasia of stranded animals generally appears to be the most suitable solution” to avoid long agony, the Service underlined.
Mass strandings of cetaceans are being observed more and more frequently throughout the world, a phenomenon whose causes have not been scientifically established to date.
In July, dozens of pilot whales, a gregarious species, died after becoming stranded at Cheynes Beach, some 400 km east of Toby's Inlet.
AFP
