Pilot whale stranding has measure of success.

22
Aug

A mass stranding of 58 pilot whales, mobilized over 250-300 people, touched the hearts of the nation, and everyone waited with bated breath as the volunteers busted a gut, went without sleep for 40 hours, touched a star or two on the way, and saved nine pilot whales. This is part of their story.

A text message at 11am, alerted us to a possible stranding somewhere up North. Were we able to assist?

Texting back YES we waited for the next bit of information.
Project Jonah have a phone tree of qualified Marine Mammal Medics, and most of our crew have done the workshop.

Information came through that there was a stranding, that there were 58 pilot whales, and that the majority of them were already dead. About a dozen were alive. Different messages came through during the day, and by that afternoon an update would be sent at 6pm.
We waited….When it came through, it was a question we all knew the answer to.

Could we be of any help with the re-floating operation at 6am the next morning?

Instead of driving through early in the morning, Tamra and Shayni decided to leave immediately. The drive north to Karikari Peninsula is around 3 hours from here, and they arrived at about 1am in the morning.

They ended up looking after their own whale, Mojo, through the night, and walked with her through an incredible journey. Beach-side night-time conversations, songs, wet and cold, no sleep, hungry, but filled with hope, always hope to get the remaining pod members back in the water, but such sadness, and tears at the losses from the pod remaining on the beach.

Mojo was one of the first whales re-floated, and once again tears, but of joy and release.

Shayni and Tam will tell their own story, but we are just so incredibly proud of them both.

For more information

We will be running another workshop, so keep in touch if you are interested.