Thaindian News

Stewart Island, Feb 22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) About 107 pilot whales that were stranded on a beach in New Zealand have died.

48 of the mammals were euphemized and the others died naturally. Officials of the country’s conservation department explained that euphemism was necessary to end the pain that the animals were going through.

The animals were found on Sunday by a group of hikers. When the animals were found then about half of them were already dead. When the officials realized that there was very little they could do to help the animals, they chose the difficult decision of euphemizing the animals.

Brent Beaven was the leader of the group of conservationists that moved to the location. He told reporters later that, “Euthanasia is a difficult decision, but is made purely for the welfare of the animal involved to prevent it from prolonged suffering.”

In recent times several pilot whales have found themselves stranded on various beaches of New Zealand. 24 whales died in January when they were stranded in the North Island. More than 120 whales also died when they were stranded on two beaches in December of 2009.

The pilot whale is one of the commonest whales in the waters of New Zealand.