Things are looking up for a couple whale pods that were stranded in shallow waters in a remote area of Everglades National Park, but officials said they are “cautiously optimistic” the remaining 35 stranded pilot whales will be completely out of harm’s way soon.
As of Thursday, the whales had been moving into deeper waters.
NOAA officials said during a conference call with reporters that they didn’t even have to bang large aluminum pipes in the water to help herd them out to sea, as was once considered.
Blair Mase with NOAA’s Marine Mammals Stranding Network said events have taken a positive turn as the whales moved several miles offshore, but this doesn’t mean the whales are in the clear.
“There are no guarantees. They still are very far. They are still several miles away,” she said. “But, the mood is still more optimistic and hopeful than it was yesterday.”
Mase said during a similar stranding event in the 90s, the pilot whales swam out and then beached themselves again.
Home range waters for pilot whales are about a thousand feet deep. As of Thursday, the whales were in water 18 feet deep and 11 whales have died out of the original 51 whales that were stranded on Tuesday.
