Sydney - One hundred and fifty whales have died in a mass stranding in Australia - almost double the original tally, authorities said Sunday. Of the long-finned pilot whales that came ashore on Tasmania's west coast, 30 were shepherded out to sea by volunteers and appear to have survived.
The pod was discovered near Sandy Cape on Saturday, many of them injured as they had been dragged over rocks by the surf.
Last week 53 pilot whales died in similar circumstances down the coast from Sandy Cape. Five of the 11 that survived were then fitted with electronic tags so their progress could be tracked by satellite. A day after their release the 11 were together, swimming strongly and 40 kilometres from shore.
"We go through periods where we are dealing with strandings every 12 days," wildlife officer Warwick Brennan said. "That runs from a single animal stranding to these mass strandings and, at this time of year, it seems to be especially busy."
David Pemberton, a zoologist at the Tasmanian Museum in Hobart, said stranding may occur while the mammals were feeding together or when they were driven into shore by a predator attack.
Pilot whales grow up to 7 metres and can weigh 1.8 tonnes. They can dive to 1,000 metres and are very fast swimmers.
