Nearly 100 whales have died in New Zealand in a mass stranding on remote islands over the weekend.
The country's nature conservation authorities say a total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the Chatham Islands, about 800 kilometers east of the country's South Island.
The first reports of the incident came in at around noon on Sunday. But due to the remote location, responders were unable to get there until 3 p.m. One official says only a few dozen animals were alive by then and were very weak. They euthanized 28 whales and three dolphins.
The Chatham Islands are known for a record mass stranding of 1,000 animals nearly 100 years ago.
NHK
