Hundreds of pilot whales were caught in the sandbars of the Tasmanian Islands in the southeastern state of the state, preventing them from returning to sea, and many died.
Environmental authorities and animal protection groups are working on rescue, but it is known that the sandbar is in the middle of the sea away from the beach.
According to the AFP news agency on the 22nd local time, 270 whales were caught in a sandbar near the Macquarie Boat Dock in western Tasmania the day before.
Australian wildlife authorities and police were engaged in rescue operations, but 90 whales caught in the sandbar were killed without returning to sea.
The remaining 180 are caught in the sandbar and awaiting rescue.
"One-third of the 270 whales caught in the sandsaw have already died," said Chris Carlin, an Australian government marine biologist.
As of the 22nd, about 60 people, including animal protection groups and fish farm personnel, are trying to rescue whales.
The isolated whales can only be accessed by boat, making it difficult to put in a lot of manpower.
Rescue teams are struggling to bring whales back to the sea due to the cold and irregular algae.
Marine ecology experts have not clearly identified the cause of whale death.
However, various causes such as diseases within the whale population, geographical characteristics, and increase in water temperature due to global warming are analyzed and these are analyzed as having a complex effect.
Australian government marine biologist Chris Carlin estimates that "it is possible that whales may have lost their direction after hunting for food along the coast."
Last September, in Georgia, USA, 26 whales floated ashore, and 16 of them died.
In November 2018, 145 dead whales were also found on a remote beach on Stewart Island in southern New Zealand.
(Composition: Jeongeun Shin, editor: Heesun Kim)