Whales die in Australia - 30th September 2020

350 pilot whales have died on the coast of Tasmania, Australia.

The whales were part of a group that got into trouble last week. They swam too close to beaches and couldn't get back to the ocean. It's the worst whale beaching in the history of Australia.

A group of conservationists and volunteers are working to free the whales and have been in the water for several days.

Pilot whales can grow up to 6 metres long and weigh up to one tonne. They are very social and live together in groups. After they were saved, some of the whales became beached a second time. This happened because they went back to the beaches to be close to their families.

So far, the team has saved 109 whales, but they now have another problem. The dead whales are bad for the environment and need to be removed. The team also wants to stop other whales becoming beached again. Whale beachings are common, but no one knows why they happen.