WELLINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-one pilot whales have died and 34 more are stranded on Farewell Spit at the top of New Zealand's South Island, the Department of Conservation (DoC) said on Tuesday.
The DoC believed one pod of whales beached at the end of the spit on Monday afternoon and died, and a second pod became stranded overnight, the Radio New Zealand reported on Tuesday.
The mammals are a mix of adults and young whales. DoC said the whales are in a remote tidal area and it is too dangerous to attempt to try to re-float the mammals.
The DoC staff are monitoring the situation.
