More than twenty pilot whales have died after they stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand.
A pod of 29 whales was discovered on Monday at Twilight Beach, or Paenga Rehia, near the northern tip of the country's North Island.
The Ministry of Nature Conservation said it had decided against a rescue attempt due to the inaccessible location, the poor condition of the animals and tidal conditions, Reuters reports.
The Northern Advocate newspaper reported that 27 whales have died since then.
The ministry said a rahui, a Maori spiritual ban, had been declared to allow for the community's cultural recovery and to carry out a clean-up due to possible biological risks.
The process will be led by members of the local Ngati Kuri people, with support from the Department of Conservation.
New Zealand and neighboring Australia are considered hotspots for mass whale strandings, as numerous colonies of pilot whales live in the deep waters around these two islands.
The cause of the whale stranding is still unknown.
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