Around 70 whales are stranded in a bay on the Australian island of Tasmania, officials said Monday, with marine experts now mobilising to see if a rescue is possible.

The whales are in Macquarie Harbour, on the island's rugged and sparsely populated west coast, where they are believed to be stuck on a sandbar.

Police are on site and marine experts are being deployed to assess the situation, Tasmania's environment department said.

"Additional crews with whale rescue gear will arrive later today," the department said in a statement.

The creatures are believed to be pilot whales but the species has not yet been confirmed.

Mass whale strandings occur relatively often in Tasmania, but the large numbers involved present a daunting rescue prospect.

The latest stranding comes as a humpback whale that was stuck in a tropical river in Australia's north finally returned to the ocean after more than two weeks.

Public broadcaster ABC reported the creature, which spent 17 days in the crocodile-infested waters of Kakadu National Park, has been spotted in open seas off Darwin.

Scientists had been weighing options for guiding the humpback to safety after it became the first known whale to travel up the muddy river, but were relieved when it returned to sea of its own accord.

Related Links
Follow the Whaling Debate

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

18 whales die in Mauritius stranding
Port Louis, Mauritius (AFP) Aug 26, 2020
Eighteen melon-headed whales washed up on the shores of Mauritius on Wednesday, the country's fisheries minister said, dismissing any link to a devastating oil spill earlier this month. The whales, some of which were still alive when they were found and later died, were stranded on the south-eastern beaches of Grand Sable, and some of them had injuries. Fisheries minister Sudheer Maudhoo told a press conference that all 18 of the whales, a member of the dolphin family, had died, but that there w ... read more