A pod of whales was discovered stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbor on the rugged west coast of Tasmania. Rescuers faced a race against time to save nearly 200 whales stuck in the remote Australian harbor on Sept. 22, 2020.
Almost 500 pilot whales have died in the biggest beaching event in modern Australian history.
On Tuesday, a second pod of 200 whales was found about 10 kilometers south of the bay on the island of Tasmania, where a first group was discovered on Monday.
The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil has more on this natural phenomenon, which scientists say has no known cause.
[Reporter]
Rescuers say that most of the newly found whales have already died. They were spotted just over 6 miles from the area where 270 pilot whales are stranded.
At least a third of that pod have perished. Twenty-five have been saved and it is hoped that more can be helped back into the sea. Marine biologists say the rescue mission is likely to take days.
The discovery of another pod means this now appears to be Tasmania's largest whale stranding.
It is unknown what drew the animals to the shore.
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