More Than 50 Whales Die After Mass Stranding in Australia

Wildlife officials and volunteers worked Wednesday to try to save dozens of whales stranded on a beach in Western Australia after more than 50 whales from the same group died. 




The pod of nearly 100 pilot whales was spotted Tuesday swimming near a beach close to the city of Albany. They later stranded themselves on the beach, leading to at least 51 deaths, officials said. 




Wednesday's rescue efforts focused on 46 remaining whales as crews tried to get them into water deep enough for the whales to swim.


 


 




Bec Wellard, a marine mammal scientist at Project Orca, told Agence France-Presse that the reason for mass whale strandings is not known for sure. 




"But with pilot whales, they frequently strand en masse — an individual might be ill or in trouble and the rest of the pod follows them — that can lead them to strand," Wellard said. 




Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.