Whales
die on Tassie beach
Saturday 9th
Eight sperm whales died after
being stranded on a beach in Tasmania's north coast.
The animals, five adult females
between 10 and 12 metres long and three younger animals, were spotted
by an aircraft flying between Flinders Island and Launceston about
midday today, government spokesman Tony Scott said. He said a party
of Parks and Wildlife staff found the whales stranded on three beaches
at Croppies Point, east of Bridport. But they were all dead, he said.
Aircraft flying to Flinders Island were asked to search nearby waters
for any more whales which might be in distress but none were sighted.
"Sperm whale strandings are not unheard of in Tasmania but, being
a deep-water species, sperm whales are normally found on the west
coast, where the continental shelf is closer to the coast," Mr
Scott said. "It is quite unusual
for them to be found in the shallower waters of Bass Strait,"
Mr Scott said. He said further checks would be made of beaches in
the area in the morning.
For more info about
'Flinders Island', Tasmania, go to:
http://vcserv.seas.smu.edu/tastour/ne/whitemark.html
( Source : www.heraldsun.news.com.au
)
