Scores of pilot whales stranded on Western Australian beach

Scores of pilot whales stranded themselves on a beach in Western Australia on Tuesday, wildlife officials said, after a pod of around 60 to 70 of the animals massed offshore.

Video images broadcast on Australian media showed at least 20 of the black, long-finned pilot whales thrashing about on the sand of Cheynes Beach near Albany, around 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Perth.

“The whales are coming ashore,” a spokesman for the state’s biodiversity and conservation department told AFP, estimating that at least half of the pod had beached themselves by late afternoon.

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“We are working out our emergency response,” he said, as state experts in whale strandings met to decide on a strategy.

The Western Australian wildlife service said it appreciated people’s offers to help.

“However, the safety of the public and the whales are our main priority, so we ask that members of the public do not approach the beach,” it said in a statement.

The wildlife service said earlier it was monitoring the pilot whales, fearing that some might start to get stranded.

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The service had posted a photo on social media showing scores of the animals in shallow waters about 150 metres (500 feet) offshore before they began to head to the sand.

Mass strandings of pilot whales are not uncommon in Australia and New Zealand.

Last October, around 500 pilot whales died when they beached on the remote Chatham Islands in New Zealand.

Scientists do not fully understand why mass strandings occur, but some researchers think pods go off track after feeding too close to shore.

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Pilot whales — which can grow to more than six metres (20 feet) long — are highly sociable, so they may follow pod-mates who stray into danger.