16 pilot whales stranded near Keys
May 06, 2011 5:53 AM EDT
(CNN) -- Rescuers worked early Friday to save a group of pilot whales who stranded themselves in shallow waters near the Florida Keys.
There were more than 16 pilot whales stranded in an area about 20 miles north of Key West, said Art Cooper, the chairman of the Marine Mammal Conservancy.
By about 4 a.m. ET a team of about 50 people were able to get six of the whales into a safer area and were protecting them with a sea pen they had created, Cooper said.
The group of whales were spread out in about a four-mile area in waters that were as shallow as three inches in some areas.
The situation for the animals was dire because mass strandings can be a sign of some kind of sickness in some of the whales, Cooper said. Also being stuck in shallow waters make them vulnerable to predators.
"It is a bad situation for them when they get in the shallows and thrash around and bloody themselves," said Cooper. "If there is nobody to intervene for them they will die."
Karrie Carnes, of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also said the whales are in a perilous situation.
"It is highly likely that these animals are emaciated, that they are compromised," said Carnes.
Adult pilot whales can measure up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 3 tons. Due to their social nature, they are often involved in mass strandings, according to the American Cetacean Society. The ACS is a non-profit group based in California that works to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, according to its website.
Last year, dozens of pilot whales died in northern New Zealand after 58 of them were stranded on a remote beach.
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