Whales ‘swimming into deep water’ after help from volunteers and conservation staff following mass stranding on Farewell Spit at top of South Island

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The 60 pilot whales stranded off New Zealand’s South Island have been refloated and “it’s looking quite good”, rescuers say.



About 200 whales stranded on Farewell Spit in Golden Bay on Friday and about 140 died and the rest had been refloated.



But 60 restranded and Department of Conservation (DOC) staff and 400 volunteers worked to keep them alive on Saturday until they could be refloated at high tide in the early evening.



Lead whales were taken out on pontoons and other whales were moved to follow them, says DOC conservation services manager for Golden Bay, Andrew Lamason.



“They’re all off and the lead whales are actually now swimming into deep water and are going in the right direction,” he said.



“Our guys are moving in behind them to keep an eye on them and it’s looking quite good.”



The whales were monitored overnight on Saturday.



Farewell Spit is a narrow sand spit at the northern end of Golden Bay and there have been numerous previous whale standings there.



This is the biggest stranding in 15 years, according to locals.

Pilot whales grow to about 20ft (6 metres) in length and are the most common species of whale found in New Zealand waters.