Rangers are hopeful a pod of whales that became stranded near Fraser Island will move out to sea. Source: AAP
RANGERS are hopeful a pod of killer whales that became stranded off the Queensland coast will move out to sea on Friday night.
The nine whales have been slowly moving north out of shallow waters near Fraser Island where two whales, a mother and her calf, died after becoming stranded on Wednesday morning.
The calf's carcass was dragged further north to help entice the pod away from danger.
Rangers had hoped the pod would swim out to sea on Friday afternoon, but despite moving a few kilometres north they've remained in the channel.
"The tide has stopped going out so they've just stayed in one spot," a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman told AAP.
"They're heading in the right direction and it's expected they'll head north out to sea when the tide goes out about 7pm (AEST) tonight."
Earlier on Friday, Acting Regional Director Peter Wright said the whales appeared relaxed and in good condition.
Rangers, Sea World rescuers and orca experts continue to monitor the pod.
Sea World director of marine sciences Trevor Long says rescuers will only intervene if the whales are not able to make their own way to out to sea.
"This environment of shallow waters and sand banks is very strange for these whales," he said.
"It is possible they have been disorientated as well as fearful of the sand banks following the stranding."
Killer whale strandings are rare.
Rescuers had feared the surviving whales would stay in the shallow waters where the mother and calf died.
A necropsy is being carried out on one of the dead whales in an effort to find out what caused the stranding and if the whales suffered any major health issues.
A 300 metre exclusion zone for all vessels has been set up around the killer whales as they head towards safety.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Killer whales off Qld close to open sea
Dengan url
http://flasdiskvirus.blogspot.com/2013/07/killer-whales-off-qld-close-to-open-sea.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Killer whales off Qld close to open sea
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Killer whales off Qld close to open sea
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar