New Zealanders race to save whales after 400 stranded

New Zealand volunteers formed a human chain in the water Friday so they were trying to save about 100 whales after that more than 400stranded themselves in one of the worst whale strandings in the history of the country

Whales are stranded at Farewell Spit near Nelson, New Zealand on Friday, February 10, 2017.
New Zealand volunteers formed a human chain in the water on a secluded beach on Friday as they tried to save about 100 whales after more than 400 of the creatures beached themselves in one of the worst whale strandings in the history of the country. About three-quarters of the pilot whales were already dead whenthey were found Friday morning at Farewell Spit at the tip of the South Island. (Tim cuff/New Zealand Herald via AP) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

New Zealand volunteers formed a human chain in the water on a secluded beach Friday as they ran to save dozens of whales, after more than 400 stranded creatures themselves in one of the worst whale strandings in the history of the country.

About three-quarters of the pilot whales were already dead when they were found Friday morning at Farewell Spit at the tip of the South Island.

The carcasses of adult and baby whales were littered with three or four places deep into hundreds of yards, often rocked on the sand withtheir fins in the tail still aloft.

With volunteers carrying buckets and isothermal combinations haveworked to keep alive the survivors stranded in an area that seems to confuse whales and has been the scene of previous mass strandings.

Ranger community Department of Conservation, Inwood Kath said about 300 volunteers have joined workers in conservation on the beach.