Florida rescuers optimistic after herding stranded whales back out to sea

11 whales are dead, five are missing and 35 have been herded out to deeper water, after a large group of pilot whales became stranded in shallow water along the Florida coast on Tuesday.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), six whales were found dead and another four that couldn't be saved were euthanized, after they beached themselves in Florida's Everglades National Park. Another 41 whales were still stuck in shallow water along the coast on Wednesday, as rescue workers tried to coax them out to sea. However, pilot whales are naturally very social and will remain with stranded members of their pod, even if it puts them in danger. Complicating matters further, the whales' location would require them to cross over sand bars and more shallow areas before they could make it to deeper water. As of dusk on Wednesday, when the rescue attempts had to be called off for the night, all 41 remaining whales were still stranded.

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"This is a very difficult situation," NOAA's Blair Mase said during a conference call on Wednesday, according to Huffington Post. "The outlook does not ultimately look good for the remaining live whales."

As of this morning, the US Coast Guard reported that 35 of the remaining whales were still accounted for, and throughout the day another whale was discovered washed up on shore, bringing the total dead to 11, and five are still unaccounted for. Rescue efforts continued for the rest, with volunteers positioning their boats to gently herd the whales to deeper water, and as of the latest update, all 35 are roughly 10 kilometres out to sea, in water that's over five metres deep.

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NOAA officials and rescuers are hopeful that the whales are no longer in danger, but they will have to wait until tomorrow to know for sure. Whales have been known to re-strand themselves in these situations, so rescue attempts may need to be resumed, depending on what they find in the morning. The natural habitat for these whales is in around 300 metre-deep water, and the NOAA biologists would like to see them in at least 30 metres of water before they are satisfied.

For now, NOAA will be testing samples from the dead whales, to see what may have caused the stranding. According to Huffington Post, Mase said it may have been due to disease or environmental issues, or it could have been caused by human activity.

(Photo courtesy: NOAA/Twitter)

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