44 pilot whales rescued and returned to sea after mass stranding at Tasmanian beach

Preliminary data satellite trackers on released pilot whales who stranded on a beach in Tasmania show the rescued animals have successfully headed ‘well south’ into the ocean. Photograph: Glenn Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

A mission to rescue scores of pilot whales found still alive on a beach after a mass stranding on Tasmania’s west coast has ended with 44 of the animals towed back into the ocean.

Preliminary data from satellite trackers on two of the rescued pilot whales – which are actually large oceanic dolphins – show they are now “well south” of Tasmania.