MELBOURNE: All but six of more than 150 short-finned pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in Western Australia have died, despite efforts from authorities and local beachgoers to save them, officials said on Saturday. The stranding of 150 whales at Hamelin Bay, some 315 kilometres (195 miles) south of Perth, was spotted by a commercial fisherman at daybreak, with fears the carcasses will attract sharks. “Most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived,” said incident controller Jeremy Chick who added they they were awaiting support and equipment to help in a rescue attempt. Though the surviving whales are back in the water, officials will be monitoring the situation closely, as “it is possible the whales will come back into shore and re-strand,” Incident Controller Jeremy Chick told CNN. “This has often been the case in previous mass strandings.”

Making matters worse, the rescuers are now concerned about sharks. In 1996, the biggest mass beaching in Western Australia occurred in Dunsborough, when 320 long-finned pilot whales stranded themselves just north of Hamelin Bay and died.
More than 140 pilot whales die in Hamelin Bay, Australia, after beaching themselves.