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Georgia beachgoers keep pilot whales from stranding on shore | TribLIVE.com
U.S./World

Georgia beachgoers keep pilot whales from stranding on shore

Associated Press
Associated Press
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AP
Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel and beachgoers struggle to keep a short-fin pilot whale from crashing into the seawall on St. Simons Island, Ga., Tuesday, July16, 2019. Dozens of pilot whales beached themselves on a Georgia shore and most were rescued by authorities and onlookers who pulled the animals further into the water.
1422834_web1_1422834-80cec900099c4480807b84c855823de7
AP
Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel and beachgoers struggle to keep a short-fin pilot whale from crashing into the seawall on St. Simons Island, Ga., Tuesday, July16, 2019. Dozens of pilot whales beached themselves on a Georgia shore and most were rescued by authorities and onlookers who pulled the animals further into the water.
1422834_web1_1422834-d42fceafa6e34becb260a0aac5ea5239
AP
People on the St. Simons pier watch as Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel and beachgoers struggle to keep a short-fin pilot whale from crashing into the seawall on St. Simons Island, Ga., Tuesday, July16, 2019. Dozens of pilot whales beached themselves on a Georgia shore and most were rescued by authorities and onlookers who pulled the animals further into the water.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A state biologist says beachgoers in Georgia helped keep about 30 pilot whales from stranding themselves on the shore.

Clay George with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says the whales showed up Tuesday afternoon off the beach at St. Simons Island.

Three whales beached themselves and died. But George says onlookers helped authorities wade into the water to prevent most of the whales from reaching shore.

George said harbor pilots Wednesday morning spotted the whales in the nearby shipping channel, where he hoped they would follow the tide out to sea.

George says the whales were likely confused as they normally stay more than 100 miles offshore. The American Cetacean Society says pilot whales are often involved in mass strandings partly due to their social nature.

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Categories: News | U.S./World
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