By Rachel Tiffen
Thirty-four whales are dead and a painstaking battle to save the 40-odd survivors stranded at Farewell Spit goes on.
Department of Conservation staff and volunteers worked to refloat what remains of the pod this morning, even loading one of the strongest onto a rescue pontoon to encourage the others to follow.
But the race against the tide was lost and they are beached again at the spit at the top of the South Island.
“We've come over the high tide period and now it looks like the whales aren't really mobilising themselves to deeper water,” Doc manager Simon Walls. “So we're going to have to go out there into the deeper water and meet them and try and turn them.”
But it was all to little avail, the whales too slow against the receding tide. And as time ticks on, it just gets grimmer.
But for the dozens of volunteers mucking in it’s a cause they are happy to keep serving.
“The best part about this is the satisfaction of saving something that's endangered,” says volunteer Holly Foxwell.
And while the refloated whales are again stranded, the 20-odd unaccounted at sea last night are now safely under watch.
“We've got a team of volunteers out there just keeping an eye on them making sure they don't re-strand the idea is to keep them swimming as long as possible,” says Kim Muncaster from Project Jonah.
With Farewell Spit's rising seabed and hook that traps whales, the odds are against them.
3 News