Over the weekend, rescuers in New Zealand managed to refloat 33 pilot whales that had beached themselves, back out into deep waters. 15 other whales died. Word of the stranding spread quickly and 80 people came down to the beach helping keep the whales cool, upright and their blowholes clear.

The 48 pilot whales stranded at Port Levy on South Island, making it the third mass stranding on the New Zealand coast within several months. Over 100 whales died in the other two beachings, while 43 were returned to the ocean. In this latest incident, residents were quick to help after spotting the whales apparently feeding in the inlet before they stranded. Some of the whales in the pod were up to 17 feet long, some calves approx 4 feet. The whales refloated remain safely at sea, last sighted in a tight, cohesive group. Amongst them were several mothers and their calves that had survived. Autopsies on two of the dead whales will be carried out.

Large numbers of whales become stranded on New Zealand's beaches each summer as they pass by from Antarctic waters on their way to breeding grounds.