Nearly 100 whales die in mass stranding on remote New Zealand islands

Wildlife officials say 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died on the Chatham Islands

Some of the 100 dead pilot whales stranded on New Zealand's remote Chatham Islands, as of the marine mammals beached themselves over the weekend but rescue efforts were hampered by the area's isolated location, about 800 kilometres east of the South Island. AFP

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand in this drone picture obtained from social media. Reuters

Pilot whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand in this picture obtained from social media. Reuters

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Reuters

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Reuters

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Reuters

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand in this drone picture obtained from social media. Reuters

Whales are seen stranded on the beach in Chatham Islands, New Zealand in this image taken from a social media video. Reuters

About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands about 800 kilometres off New Zealand's east coast.

Most of them were stranded during the weekend, but rescue efforts were hampered by the remote location of the island, officials said on Wednesday.

New Zealand's Department of Conservation said 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding They were notified of the incident on Sunday.

"Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water, which are brought in by a stranding like this,” said DOC biodiversity ranger Jemma Welch.

Mass strandings are fairly common on the Chatham Islands – up to 1,000 animals died in a single stranding in 1918.

Mass whale strandings have occurred throughout recorded modern history, but why it happens is a question that has puzzled marine biologists for years.

In late September, several hundred whales died in shallow waters off the Australian coast in one of the world's biggest mass whale strandings.