The third largest mass beaching of whales ever recorded in history occurred in Farewell Spit, New Zealand  400 whales died after being beached on shore. The started beaching themselves in the beginnig of February. Volunteers drove from all over the country to attempt and save as many whales as possible. They put water on the whales in effort to keep the rest alive while medics went around assessing the situation. They eventually had to puncture the whales to prevent the dead from exploding from the heat onto the volunteers.

New Zealand’s conservation department said that the whales were most likely driven in by sharks and echo location being impaired. The remaining pod is in danger of being beached as well because the water is too shallow and is basically a trap for whales. This causes a bigger danger because whales let out distress signals, calling other whales to come in and they end up stuck as well. The beginning whales have been tagged for observation, but more whales arrived on shore who were a part of different pods.

Source: CNN/BBC