About one-third of a group of 270 whales stranded off Tasmania's west coast have died, with the rescue operation expected to take days | marywardy
"Triage will be important here," said wildlife biologist Dr Kris Carlyon."We will take the animals with the best chance to start with, and also the ones we will be able to deal with - some of the animals may be too big for us to deal with."
Nic Deka, north-west regional manager for Tasmania's Parks and Wilflife Service, said the coming days would be "a process of trying to find the best method" to move the whales. The stranded animals are understood to be pilot whales, a species which can grow to seven metres long and weigh up to three tonnes.Dr Carlyon said the group had assessed a third of the whales were dead late on Monday. Earlier in the day, it was believed 25 had died.
Around 200 whales have been stranded on a sandbar off the Macquarie Heads boat ramp. There is also a group of 30 stranded "several hundred metres away" on another sandbar, and 30 others stranded on Ocean Beach.
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