A pod of more than 30 stranded pilot whales have moved into deeper water. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
By Daniella Silva, NBC News
Pilot whales stranded in Florida’s Everglades National Parks have reunited in deeper waters, raising hopes for their survival, officials said Friday.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Linda Friar, Everglades National Park spokesman. “There’s a lot of concern about their standing and health over this time.”
The group had split into three pods totaling 35 animals all headed in the direction of deeper waters on Thursday. The pods were spotted in about 12 feet of water nine miles north of their original location on the Gulf of Mexico side of the park, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Over a period of hours they did come back together,” Friar said. “We think it’s a good sign.”
The reunion was another glimmer of hope for the pod after 51 whales were found stranded Tuesday and early rescue efforts were unsuccessful. By Thursday afternoon, 11 whales had been found dead and five others were unaccounted for, according to NOAA official Blair Mase. Tissue samples from some of the whales were being collected and sent to a lab to help determine the cause of the breaching.
With the surviving whales now in deeper waters, Friar said rescue efforts were on standby and that park officials, the Coast Guard and NOAA would continue monitoring the situation.
“Once they got beyond 10 feet, that was a good sign,” she said, noting that the whales need to be in much deeper water in order to feed.
The park’s biology teams were awaiting reconnaissance from the U.S. Coast Guard Friday morning to determine if the whales had continued out into deeper waters overnight, she said.
On Thursday, teams from NOAA, the National Park Service and state wildlife organizations used noises, including aluminum pipes and engines, as well as strategic positioning of boats in an attempt to keep the whales away from the shallows. The teams had upped both their assets and personnel to about 15 vessels and 35 personnel.
Friar said she was moved by all the support the rescue effort had garnered so far.
“There’s something about these whales. The outpouring of volunteers and ideas of how to save them is pretty phenomenal,” she said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment