Whales Australia: On Australia's largest whale beaches, 470 whales were first seen on a wide sandbank during an aerial survey of the rugged Port Macquarie in Tasmania on Monday.
Australian wildlife officials began dropping hundreds of dead pilot whales on Saturday after concluding that there was no longer any hope of rescuing more.
On Australia's largest whale beach, 470 whales were first spotted on a wide sandbank during an aerial survey of the rugged Port of Macquarie in Tasmania on Monday.
After days of difficult and dangerous rescue attempts, Australia said it had saved 108 whales, and the rest are now believed to be dead.
Rob Buck, director of the Accident, Parks and Wildlife Service, said 15 whales have already been culled at sea, but that the disposal of the nearly 350 remaining mammals is expected to take at least several days.
"Collection and disposal is being done with the help of aquaculture companies, whose equipment and expertise at the port are essential to achieve timely and effective results," Buck said in an emailed statement.
The carcasses of the dead whales were separated into groups and trapped with water arms to try to keep them in one place and isolate them from sharks and other predators.
Most of the released whales, which are a deep-sea species, are expected to "reassemble" and recover from the traumatic accident, officials said.
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