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10 July 2004 Whales die in mass beaching [Keyword: ]
Fifty-four whales were found dead after beaching themselves on the Northern Territory coast of Australia. The pilot whales ranged from newborns to 4.2 m adult males.
Their bodies covered more than 150m of the beach. It is the largest whale stranding recorded in the Territory.
Why the whales beached was a mystery, Parks and Wildlife officer Ray Chatto said yesterday.
He said it was impossible to tell whether the dead whales on Centre Island, near Borroloola, accounted for the entire pod.
"There were no obvious signs of external injury and no apparent geographic reason for the stranding," Mr Chatto said.
Mr Chatto said Parks and Wildlife had not received any recent report of more strandings nearby.
"That has happened before [the rest of the pod trying to strand themselves at a different location]," he said.
"We haven't had any evidence of any more strandings in that area but it is a very remote area."
A member of the public first reported the stranding to the Lianthawirriyarra Sea Ranger Unit.
Mr Chatto flew to the area on Tuesday to investigate the stranding.
"It appears the whales had been on the rocks for more than seven days, judging by their decay."
Pilot Whales look similar to large black dolphins and are a species that has frequently been recorded in mass strandings around Australia and the world.
Mr Chatto said Parks and Wildlife wanted to hear from anyone who had recently seen the whales in the area.
The previous largest stranding in the NT was 40 Melon-Headed Whales on Elcho Island in 1996.
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