Rangers to euthanise 90 dolphins stranded on remote Australian beach

SYDNEY - Wildlife rangers were set on Feb 19 to begin shooting 90 dolphins stranded on a remote Australian beach, saying the stressed creatures would be euthanised after attempts to refloat them failed.

A pod of 157 dolphins from a poorly understood deep-sea species was found stranded on the beach in Australia’s southern island of Tasmania on the evening of Feb 18.

Tasmania’s environment department said only 90 survived by the afternoon of Feb 19, growing increasingly “stressed” the longer they were exposed to the beaming sun and lashing winds.

“Following expert veterinary assessment, we have made the decision to euthanise the animals,” incident controller Shelley Graham told reporters. “That’s likely to be the course of action for all 90.”

They appeared to be members of a large dolphin species known as false killer whales – named for the orca-like shape of their skull – officials said.

Biologist Kris Carlyon earlier said that efforts to refloat the dolphins – which can weigh upwards of one tonne – were unlikely to succeed.

“This is possibly the trickiest location I’ve seen in 16 years of doing this in Tasmania. It is extremely remote, extremely difficult to get access.

“We’ve given it a good crack this morning, but we are running out of options for a successful refloat.”

Dozens of sleek and dark-skinned dolphins were pictured on Feb 18 wallowing in wet sand as a shallow tide lapped against them.

“Euthanasia of an animal this size, it’s not a simple exercise,” said Dr Carlyon.

It is reasonably common for pods of false killer whales to strand themselves on Australia’s beaches.

But officials said it was the first time in 50 years they had beached in that part of Tasmania.

“Often we don’t get to the bottom of the ultimate cause,” said Dr Carlyon. “They have really strong social bonds. One disoriented individual can drag the rest of them ashore.”

The dolphins were stranded on a beach near the Arthur River inlet on the west coast of Tasmania, a sparsely populated area known for its windswept coastline.

“The moment a whale or dolphin strands, the clock of survival starts ticking,” said marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta.

“We don’t yet understand why whales and dolphins strand. Tasmania has proven to be a hot-spot location for seeing mass strandings like this. Perhaps it’s the geographical location – which makes it difficult to navigate around.”

False killer whales can reach up to 6m in length and are known as a highly social species that gathers in pods of 50 or more.

Big adults can weigh more than one tonne, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The species is often involved in mass strandings that can “wipe out whole schools involving hundreds of animals”, according to the Australian Museum.

Little is known about false killer whales, according to a government fact sheet, and there are no reliable estimates of their population size.

The Australian government lists their conservation status as “near threatened”. AFP