Nearly 100 volunteers have helped to rescue five whales that became stranded on a West Australian beach.
Almost 150 short-finned pilot whales died after becoming stranded at Hamelin Bay, south of Perth, with authorities warning their carcasses could bring sharks to the area.
Five of the whales were rescued by authorities with the help of more than 100 animal-loving volunteers, a Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said.
The remaining carcasses are being removed and analysed. The beached whales were spotted by a commercial fisherman early on Friday morning.
The mammals were spotted at Hamelin Bay on the state's southwest coast on Friday morning by a commercial fisherman.
During the rescue efforts, the surviving whales were placed in shallow water but it was difficult to move them further out as they were surrounded by the dead whales, and because of the beach's rocky terrain and rough seas.
"The conditions are challenging but we are doing all we can to give these animals the best chance of survival without risking the safety of staff and volunteers," Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controller Jeremy Chick said in a statement on Friday.
Boats were used to get them out into deeper water and the team monitored the whales to make sure they did not restrand themselves.
Parks and Wildlife Service officers took DNA samples to collect clues about why whales strand.
WA's largest mass stranding involved 320 long-finned pilot whales at Dunsborough in 1996.
Nine short-finned pilot whales were found dead at Albany's Ledge Point in November 1984, while 38 became stranded in April 1991 at Sandy Point, north of Broome.
