About 80 conservation workers and volunteers were trying to refloat the whales as high tide rolled in, Lamason said. But with such a vast number of animals stranded, workers were bracing for days of arduous work to move the whales back into the water.(…)
Experts describe Farewell Spit, located on the northwest corner of South Island, as a whale trap due to the way its shallow waters seem to confuse whales and diminish their ability to navigate.