Whales

Three pilot whales and one dolphin died of their injuries following the mass beaching near the city of Panadura, south of the capital Colombo.

The rescue was conducted by the navy, with help from environmental protection officers, police and local residents.

It's thought to be the largest stranding in Sri Lanka. It is not known why whales beach themselves.

Local villagers defied a coronavirus curfew to join the navy and coast guard and help push the small whales back into deeper water so they could swim out into the ocean.

The mass stranding on the west coast of the island was discovered on Monday.

Marine biologists are scrambling to save the remaining pilot whales in a tricky operation likely to take days.

It's unknown what drew the whales to the shore. Whale beachings are common in the region, but one of this size has not been seen since 2009.

Scientists from the Tasmanian Maritime Conservation Program said the whales were found in three groups across Macquarie Heads - a remote tip of the island with limited vessel and road access.

Presenting during a side show at the ‘Whales in a changing Ocean’ conference at the Tanoa Dateline International Hotel in Nuku’alofa Wednesday, the Trusts rep, Ms Aline Schaffar said their current exhibition at the Tijibaou Gallery in Noumea reflects these important messages.

“The exhibition goes in line with the fact that we are celebrating Year of the Whales and we had artists from New Caledonia and the region come over to Noumea for three weeks and work on getting the messages out in art form,” she said.