Beached whales refloated in Australia (2nd Roundup)

Mar 24, 2009, 10:56 GMT

   Sydney - Ten survivors from a pod of 80 whales that beached themselves near Margaret River on Australia's west coast were successfully pushed back out to sea Tuesday.

   Wildlife officers were forced to shoot one stricken whale after it was refloated, for fear that its cries of distress would bring the rest of the survivors back to the shore.

   'The whale had suffered significant trauma as a result of the stranding and was in a very poor condition,' Department of Environment and Conservation spokesman Greg Mair said in a statement.

   'In addition to the importance of ensuring the most humane outcome for the individual animal, one of the most important considerations was reducing the likelihood of negatively affecting the rest of the pod,' he added.

   The long-finned pilot whales were loaded onto trucks at Hamelin Bay where they came ashore Monday.

   Individual whales measuring up to 6 metres long and weighing up to 3.5 tons were hoisted in a sling onto a truck for the trip from Hamelin to Flinders.

   They were penned until the pod was back together and then released together.

   Flinders Bay, 20 kilometres away, was picked because it is deep, sheltered and far enough from the original stranding site to deter the whales from coming back on shore.

   Margaret River schoolchildren were among the 200 volunteers keeping the whales wet so they didn't dehydrate and die. Some stayed up all night to help in the rescue effort.

   The volunteers were asked to make as much noise as they possibly could when the whales were herded out of Flinders Bay to make sure the mammals didn't loiter or return to the beach.