45 sperm whales beached off Australian island

[January 23, 2009]  HOBART, Australia (AP) -- Rescuers poured water on the parched skin of sperm whales beached on a remote sand bank off Australia's coast Friday to keep them alive until the next high tide, after a stranding that left at least 38 whales dead.

Wildlife officials said the whales had beached Thursday on the bank about 160 yards (150 meters) off Perkins Island on the northwest of Tasmania state, and all but seven had died by the time they were spotted.

A team of six wildlife rangers reached the survivors by dinghy early Friday and were attempting to keep their skin wet, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Liz Wren said.

"The next opportunity to attempt any possible rescue would be later in the day at the next high tide," Wren said. She did not know what time the next high tide was due.

The team had determined that the stranded pod, initially reported to be 50, numbered 45, Wren said.

There were young whales among the seven survivors, she said.

The reasons for the beaching were unclear, but Wren said rough sea conditions and the narrow channel that the pod had been navigating between the island and the mainland could be part of the explanation.

Strandings happen periodically in Tasmania, which whales pass on their migration to and from Antarctic waters. It is not known why the creatures get stranded.

Police incorrectly reported Thursday that the whales were minke and numbered up to 30.

Last November, 150 long-finned pilot whales died after beaching on a rocky coastline in Tasmania despite frantic efforts to save them. A week earlier, rescuers saved 11 pilot whales among a pod of 60 that had beached on the island state.

[Associated Press]

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