Scientists Track 11 Whales Rescued in Australia

The story of the eleven pilot whales that beached themselves on a Tasmanian beach has been making some pretty big global headlines:

Australian scientists are using satellite technology to track 11 whales that survived a mass stranding in the southern state of Tasmania over the weekend. The long-finned pilot whales were the only survivors of a pod of 64 found beached near the small town of Stanley. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

Volunteers spent the weekend tending to the stranded whales, which had beached themselves near Stanley on Tasmania’s north-west coast. Fifty-three of the large marine mammals died but rescuers did manage to save 11 others.

They were taken back into deeper water. Tracking devices the size of a matchbox were attached to the dorsal fin of five long-finned pilot whales.

The devices show the whales have been swimming freely in open seas in Bass Strait, the large body of water that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland.

Scientist Rosemary Gales hopes the global positioning technology will last.

“That is a little bit of an unknown because we haven’t done this before. It partly depends on how often the fin, the dorsal fin is out of the water because it can only transmit out of the water and then that in turn has an effect on its battery life. But we are hoping several weeks at this point,” said Gales.  [Voice of America]

Let’s hope these tracking devices do work and that these whales do no beach themselves again. 

Photo from ABC

You can see video of the rescue operation here.