One of the strangest New Zealand’s phenomenons (and not only New Zealand’s) is the stranding of marine mammals. No one knows exactly why whales and dolphins strand. These creatures are famous for their intelligence and they are fully adapted to ocean life, but they still strand. Possible factors for stranding can be navigational errors, ill health, extreme weather, or unusual geographic features, and many more. But the truth is nobody knows the real reasons for this natural phenomenon.

Most of strandings occur in summer and involve one or two animals, but there are also mass strandings (which are much less common) that may involve hundreds of animals. Stranding animals usually won’t survive without human help, and here you will learn what you can do to help them return to water.

The procedure is divided into five stages, but before reading them please note that each stranding is unique, so best advice is – follow the directions of DoC staff at all times. Always remember that your safety is the most important thing. In some cases DoC staff will have no choice but to put down animals, so be prepared for such outcome.

1. The initial response

So if you are the fist to see stranded marine mammal, the first thing you should do is to contact DoC (Department of Conservation) immediately. You should always follow the directions that DOC staff gives you.
- Don’t make any loud noises and unnecessary movement in order to keep the animal calm.
- If the animal lies on the side, you should move it to upright position. In order to do that, digging a shallow trench alongside the animal and rolling it gently upright into the trench may be required. But pay attention and dig an appropriate hole for the flippers so you won’t damage them while rolling the animal.
- Try to touch the animal as little as possible, and always watch the mouth and the tail – that will keep you safe.
- Marine mammals should be kept cool and shaded. For that cover them with wet sheets, and constantly pour seawater over them, mostly on the tail fluke and flippers. You can even dig moats around the tail and flippers, but whatever you do, don’t cover the blowhole and don’t pour water into it.

2. Re-floating the animal

In brief – wait for the tide to return and then carefully re-float the animal and hold them until they are calmed down.

- Gently rock a floating animal from side to side in order to help it regain its balance.
- Once the animal is stabilized, it should be carefully leaded out into deeper water. Slings or pontoons can be used for shifting small whales or dolphins.
Never tow the animal by tail or flippers, because you can easily dislocate them! Remember that whales are big animals, and several people may be required in order to keep them under control.

3. Holding still

After reaching the deeper water, animals should be held and kept calm for as long as possible.
This is crucial stage in case of a mass stranding, because it is very important that any stragglers will catch up before the pod is released together. Otherwise a re-stranding can occur.

4. Release

After the animal is released, you may be asked by DoC rangers together with other rescuers to form a human chain parallel to the shore. This chain will create a barrier between the released animals and the beach so they would go deeper into the ocean. Just beware of any boats that DoC might use to help with herding offshore.

5. Return to shore

When the animals are released and are moving away from the shore, you and other rescuers will need to return to the shore. Boats may assist.
- Please help collecting the equipment left on the beach.
- Help in additional cleaning tasks such as removing dead animals, or helping DoC staff to take scientific samples from dead animals.

In my next post I write about the personal safety of the people involved in the rescue and about additional stranding facts. You can read it here

Related posts:

1. Fiordland Marine Reserves