More than 150 dolphins were found on the beach in Australia, know what is the matter

Wildlife rangers in Sydney, Australia, will begin euthanizing 90 dolphins on Wednesday after unsuccessful efforts to refloat them. A pod of 157 dolphins, believed to be from a little-known deep-sea species, was found stranded on a remote beach in Tasmania’s southern region on Tuesday evening.

By Wednesday afternoon, only 90 dolphins had survived, and they were becoming increasingly “stressed” due to the harsh sun and strong winds. “After consulting with veterinary experts, we have decided to euthanize the animals,” said Shelley Graham, the incident controller, speaking to the press. “This will likely be the outcome for all 90 dolphins.”

The dolphins are thought to be false killer whales, a species named for their orca-like skull shape. Efforts to refloat them—despite the dolphins weighing up to one tonne—had failed and were unlikely to succeed, said biologist Kris Carlyon. “This is probably the most challenging location I’ve encountered in 16 years of working on strandings in Tasmania. It’s extremely remote, and access is difficult,” he said. “We tried our best this morning, but the chances of success are slim.”

On Tuesday, images showed dozens of dolphins stranded in shallow water, their dark bodies half-buried in wet sand. “Euthanizing such large animals is not a simple task,” added Carlyon.

While it’s relatively common for false killer whales to strand themselves on Australia’s beaches, officials stated that this was the first time in 50 years that they had stranded in this part of Tasmania. “We often can’t determine the exact cause,” said Carlyon. “These dolphins are highly social, and one disoriented individual can lead the entire pod ashore.”

The dolphins were found near the Arthur River inlet on Tasmania’s west coast, a sparsely populated area with a rugged, wind-swept coastline. “Once a whale or dolphin strands, the clock is ticking on their survival,” said marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta. “We still don’t fully understand why these animals strand, but Tasmania has become a hotspot for such mass strandings, possibly due to its challenging geography.”

False killer whales can grow up to 6 meters (20 feet) in length and are known for their strong social bonds, often traveling in groups of 50 or more. Adult whales can weigh over one tonne. The species is frequently involved in mass strandings, which can result in large-scale deaths. According to the Australian Museum, these events can wipe out entire pods of hundreds of animals.

False killer whales are poorly understood, with no reliable estimates of their population size. The Australian government has listed their conservation status as “near threatened.”