At least 25 pilot whales have died and more than 200 are stranded at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast in, one of Australia’s worst beaching events.

At least 25 pilot whales have died and more than 200 are stranded at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast in what is believed to be one of Australia’s worst beaching events.

A government marine conservation team was assessing the health of the whales late on Monday after they became stranded in three spots in and outside Macquarie Heads, near the town of Strahan.

Nic Deka, incident controller from Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, told reporters it appeared from the air that about 25 of 30 whales stranded near Ocean Beach, outside the heads, have died.

It was unclear how many in two larger groups on sandbars several hundred metres apart off the heads and inside the harbour were dead. Deka said there were about 270 whales stranded across the three sites.

“They are in water. It’s very difficult to see how many might be deceased or what condition they’re in,” he said.

Authorities hope to launch a rescue mission for surviving whales early on Tuesday, when there would be an outgoing tide.

Tasmania is a known whale stranding hotspot as the mammals pass it to and from Antarctica. Deka said beachings were not uncommon in the area, but it was the first in at least 10 years.

A department spokeswoman said a decision would be made on whether help was needed from the public once the whales had been assessed. In the meantime, police urged people to stay away and leave the local boat ramp clear for rescuers.

Meanwhile, in a more positive development, a humpback whale that took a wrong turn into a crocodile-infested Northern Territory river has swum free after more than two weeks in the murky waterway.

It’s the first time a humpback has been spotted in Kakadu national park’s remote East Alligator River, with reports placing it 30km inland.

Kakadu national park manager and zoologist Feach Moyle said the whale managed to navigate its way out of the maze of shallow channels back into Van Diemen Gulf over the weekend.

“It made its way out on the high tides and we’re pleased it appeared to be in good condition and not suffering any ill effects,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Experts weren’t sure why the humpback swam up the muddy tidal river and didn’t migrate south to Antarctica for its annual feed.

The article is originally published at the guardian

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