Agencies MELBOURNE

Marine experts have given up hope of rescuing more than 150 false killer whales that stranded on a remote beach on Australia’s island state of Tasmania, officials said on Wednesday.  Experts, including veterinarians, were at the scene near the Arthur River on Tasmania’s northwestern coast where a pod of 157 whales were discovered on an exposed surf beach on Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said.

Tasmania has seen a series of mass whale strandings in recent years - including the country's worst-ever in 2020 - but false killer whales haven't mass stranded there in over 50 years. Authorities on Wednesday said the pod had been stranded at the site for 24 to 48 hours, and the surviving animals were already under extreme stress. 

The site,  about 300 km from the city of Launceston,  is extremely difficult to access and transport any rescue equipment to, marine biologist Kris Carlyon told media. "This is possibly the trickiest location I've seen in 16 years of doing this role in Tasmania," he said.

Rough conditions meant returning the animals to the sea at the location they were stranded was impossible, so an expert team tried to relocate two and refloat them, but were unsuccessful. "The animals just can't get past the break to get out. They just keep turning around and coming back towards the beach," said Shelley Graham, from Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service.

With conditions for the next two days forecast to be similar, expert wildlife veterinarians made the "tough" and "confronting" decision to euthanise the remaining whales. "The longer these animals are stranded, the longer they are suffering. All alternative options have been unsuccessful, euthanasia is always a last resort," Dr Carlyon said.