More than 200 pilot whales have died after being stranded on a New Zealand island, according to conservationists.
The animals are also known as pilot whales and inhabit all oceans in the southern hemisphere.
When the animals were discovered on Chatham Island, in the northwest of the main island, many were already dead, according to the environmental protection project Jonah on its Facebook page.
"The Chatham Islands are a difficult place to respond to strandings: known for great white sharks, very remote beaches and a population of less than 800 people," wrote the New Zealand organization that works to protect and rescue whales and dolphins .
The circumstances would have meant that the whales that were still alive when they were discovered had to be euthanized by the nature conservation authority.
"While we always hope that surviving whales will be able to be returned to the water, that wasn't an option here."
The Chatham Islands are around 840 kilometers east of New Zealand's two main islands in the South Pacific.
Whale strandings are unfortunately not uncommon there.
More than 1,000 animals died in the largest stranding recorded to date in 1918.
In other places, too, it happens again and again that pilot whales strand on the coast.
About 230 pilot whales died in Tasmania in September.