More than 140 whales were found beached and stranded in New Zealand’s Mason Bay.
Discovered by a hiker on Saturday, the two full pods of pilot whales where dead or dying when conservationists arrived.
Rakiura operations manager for the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Ren Leppens says that due to the remote location, lack of nearby personal and the whale’s deteriorating condition mean the most humane thing to do was to euthanise the remaining whales.