Hope fades for beached US whales

The surviving whales are said to be traumatised

Rescue workers battling to save more than 40 pilot whales beached on the eastern coast of the US have admitted they may have to put them to death as many are ill or too distressed to return to the sea.

"It's heartbreaking"

Animal welfare worker Christopher Bailey

The whales, which were tagged, were found in shallow waters at Eastham, Cape Cod, in Massachusetts about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Chapin beach, Dennis, where they had first beached themselves on Monday.

Around 15 whales died at the first beaching, and several more have died or been put out of their misery this time.

"They are now in a very poor condition, and those that don't die will probably have to be euthanised [put to death]," National Marine Fisheries Service spokeswoman Teri Frady told the French news agency AFP.

Social animals

The surviving whales are said to be traumatised, thrashing weakly in the water and wailing to each other.

"It's heartbreaking," International Fund for Animal Welfare worker Christopher Bailey told the Associated Press.

Mr Bailey said that many of the whales who had been returned to the water swam back to shore, either because they could not orient themselves or because they are highly social animals that tend to feed and swim in groups.

Rescuers decided not to push the remaining whales back into the water but merely to keep the animals on their stomachs to prevent them from suffocating.

"We want to give them the opportunity... If they can find the desire to swim off, they will do so," Mr Bailey said.

Beachings common

More than 300 volunteers and rescue workers have been involved in aiding the whales, from marine experts to tourists and young children who filled sand buckets with water and poured it over the whales to keep them cool.

Pilot whale pods become stranded fairly regularly as they are sociable animals and like to feed in coastal waters.

The Cape Cod region of Massachusetts is a common site for whale beachings as its curved peninsula can trap mammals attracted by its rich source of squid, sand eels and crustaceans which whales like to feed on.