A large-scale rescue effort was underway on a remote stretch of New Zealand’s South Island after dozens of pilot whales became stranded, leaving six dead and 15 fighting for survival on Thursday.
The animals washed ashore on Thursday at Farewell Spit, a narrow sand formation known for repeated strandings. Though the majority of the pod initially managed to return to the sea, a group of whales later became stranded again, scattered across roughly a kilometre stretch of the beach.
