Dozens of whales die on New Zealand beach

[Hum]

(CNN) -- A beachgoer in a remote area of northern New Zealand found a horrific sight Friday morning -- 58 pilot whales stranded on Karikari Beach.

When conservation officials arrived, only 15 of the animals were still alive. The whales probably became stranded sometime during the night, said Carolyn Smith of New Zealand's Department of Conservation in Kaitaia, and that's why so many died before being discovered.

"The focus for everyone right now was to try to refloat the survivors," Smith said.

To do that, officials will position the whales to face out to sea and hope that they swim back out when high tide comes.

The whales "need to be held in the water for at least half an hour to allow them to reorientate themselves, before being released to hopefully swim back out to sea," the conservation department said.

A first attempt to refloat the whales was not successful Friday night. Conservation officials were going to monitor the animals overnight in the hope of trying again, maybe after moving them to Matai Bay, where sea conditions could be more favorable for refloating.

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[zhangm Supervisor]

I don't see the point of whaling. All that sending off of ships and staying at sea for weeks, when every so often, they just come to us and die on their own.

[Growled Member]

It's strange how they do that some times.