Whales huddle in the shape of a heart before 51 die, 46 remain stranded

The race is on to try and save 46 pilot whales stranded on a West Australian beach after 51 died overnight.

An image showed the mammals huddling in the shape of a heart near the shore before the mass stranding on Cheynes Beach in southern Western Australia on Tuesday, making international headlines.

Authorities on Wednesday morning said volunteers would help to get the surviving whales back out to deeper water throughout the day.

The public has been asked to stay away from the popular tourist spot.

“The Parks and Wildlife Service has been overwhelmed with hundreds of offers of help to rescue the stranded whales, and we now have enough registered volunteers,” a statement said.

“For safety reasons, members of the public are urged to stay away from the beach.”

The huge rescue operation was said to have multiple hazards including “large, distressed and potentially sick whales, sharks, waves, heavy machinery and vessels”.

Marine biologist Dr Vanessa Pirotta said a whale stranding was horrible because it was where the animals deliberately come up onto the beach and “we have no idea why”.

“It is an incredible sight to see,” she told Sky News of the footage of the pod of whales swimming towards the shore.

“I personally have never seen anything like this. Pilot whales are largely an offshore species. They are very social. They hang out together. But like this? This is super unusual.”

Dr. Pirotta said of the surviving whales, authorities would need to work out which ones are most likely to survive and spend their time and resources on them.

She told the ABC possible reasons for stranding included that if one animal is sick the others may strand with it, or if there are navigational problems they may follow each other.

Another possibility was orcas hunting nearby.