New footage has emerged showing people frantically trying to stop dolphins from stranding at a Northland beach in New Zealand.
Concerns around a pod of dolphins in Northland have eased after four were stranded and refloated, all then heading out to sea.
The pod of around 40 common dolphins had authorities worried at Tokerau Beach, on the Karikari Peninsula, after they were discovered extremely close to shore. 1 News reported the following footage:
https://youtu.be/kRJtcocFz80
Project Jonah general manager Daren Grover said there was no need for panic, as dolphins often come near to shore.
He said in a statement that there had also been sightings of orcas in the area recently, and it was common for dolphins to approach shorelines to get away from the whales.
“Once the dolphins were approximately 20m offshore, they were joined by up to 30 other dolphins,” the statement said.
“The pod are now swimming far offshore – only able to be seen with binoculars.
We have been notified of a large pod of approx 40 common dolphins very close to shore in Northland. Locals are onsite and high tide is at around 9.30am. We are coordinating with @docgovtnz and will update you when we have more. pic.twitter.com/0Ex3B4Ll7T
— Project Jonah (@ProjectJonah) December 6, 2018
In late November, 145 pilot whales died during a mass stranding event on Stewart Island, and a few days later about 50 pilot whales stranded and died in the Chatham Islands.
