Officials in Tasmania have finally developed the first scientific method to rescue the giant sperm whales, which are often found stranded in sandbars.
This is even more special because Tasmania witnesses more mass whale stranding than any other place and the new method has already passed the first test when it was used to rescue seven whales from sandbar on Tasmania’s west coast.
In the new technique, nets are positioned under whales with the help of jet-propulsion powerboats and officials are satisfied after testing the method.
Rosemary Gales of Tasmania’s Department of Primary Industries and Water said
It relies on having the right nets, the right boats, and carefully ensuring we don’t entangle the whales in the nets. They are quite difficult operations as we’re working with incredibly large animals - sperm whales measuring up to 20 meters - and wild animals that are obviously in a highly stressed environment. We certainly get a lot of practice at it. Around 80 percent of Australia’s mass whale strandings occur here so it certainly gives us the opportunity to identify new techniques to help in rescue efforts.
Apart from sperm whales, long-finned pilot whales getting stranded is also a common sight in Tasmania.
