Last stranded whale on Perkins Island dies

HOBART. Januery 26. KAZINFORM The last surviving sperm whale stranded on an island off northwestern Tasmania died Sunday, Australian wildlife officials said.

The whale was one of a herd of 48 that stranded last week on Perkins Island. The whales, many of them more than 30 feet long, were first spotted Thursday night. Five were still alive Friday but three died Friday night and a fourth died at about 2 p.m. Saturday, The Hobart (Tasmania) Mercury reported. Rescuers had given up hope for the whale early Sunday, the newspaper said, but Department of Primary Industries and Water spokesman Warwick Brennan said teams continued to give the whale palliative care until it died around 6 p.m. local time. Brennan said the whale had no way to return to the sea. "The rescue was made more difficult because of where the animals had stranded on a sand bank and the fact we had dead animals in front of the remaining live one," he said. Rescuers ruled out euthanizing the whale because the procedure had often been unsuccessful when attempted on sperm whales due to their thick blubber and large heads, Brennan said. There have been 84 recorded sperm whale strandings in Tasmania since 1900, the newspaper said -- only one larger than this week's. Brennan said authorities had not decided whether to remove the dead whales from the island. "They would normally be left in situ and that's the preferred option," he said. © 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.