WELLINGTON — A group of 28 pilot whales were successfully refloated at a notorious New Zealand beach where more than a dozen of the marine mammals died this week, jubilant rescuers said Wednesday.
The long-finned pilot whales, which had re-stranded themselves once before, appeared to have finally swum out to sea, animal rescue charity Project Jonah said.
“The live whales haven’t stranded overnight, so it’s looking like success right now. We’re using the phrase ‘cautiously optimistic’,” the charity’s general manager Daren Grover said.
The whales were part of a pod of around 50 found Monday at Farewell Spit, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the South Island tourist town of Ne…
Keep on reading: Joy as whales refloated at notorious New Zealand stranding spot