Around 90 Long-finned Pilot Whales thought to have died in mass stranding on the west coast of Tasmania.

Around ninety Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, are thought to have died in a mass stranding on the west coast of Tasmania. A large group of about 270 individuals became trapped on two sandbars off the coast of Macquarie Heads on Monday 21 September 2020, and despite rescue attempts about third are now thought to have died. A team of 40 rescuers from the Tasmanian Marine Conservation Program have been attempting to refloat the Marine Mammals, though as of 5.00 pm local time on Tuesdat 22 September only about 25 Animals had been freed. It is, however, hoped that more of the Whales can be released over the next few days, with cold and wet conditions prevailing in the area, these being favourable for the Whales survival while stranded. Members of the public are being asked to keep away from the area in order to minimise the stress to the Whales.

 

Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, trapped on a sandbar off the coast of Macquarie Heads, Tasmania on Monday 21 September 2020. Brodie Weeding/EPA.

Long-finned Pilot Whales, a type of large Dolphin, are one of the most abundant Cetecean species, and are considdered to be of Least Concern  under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. They are highly social, typically living in small family groups of 8-12 individuals, but frequently come together to form much larger groups of several hundred Animals, and can often be observed socialising with members of other Dolphin species. They are also particularly prone to mass strandings, the reasons for which are not fully understood, but the large gatherings the species forms apparently makes them more vulnerable to such events, since more Animals will be involved in any such stranding than is likely to be the case with other Whale species.

 

Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, washed up on a beach near Macquarie Heads. Tasmania Police.

 

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Tasmanian boy recovering in hospital after being snatched from boat by Great White Shark.

A 10-year-old Tasmanian boy is recovering in the Launceston General Hospital after being snatched from a fishing boat by a large Shark, thought to have been a Great White, Carcharodon carcharias, on Friday 17 July 2020. The boy was released by the Shark almost immediately, and rescued by his father who leapt into the water as the boy was attacked, and is described as being in a stable condition, with lacerations to his arms, upper torso and head.

A Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, off the coast of Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, in August 2006. Terry Goss/Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons.

Despite their fearsome reputation, attacks by Sharks are relatively rare, and most  attacks on Humans by Great White Sharks are thought to be mistakes. The species feeds principally on Marine Mammals, which we superficially resemble when we enter the water, gaining the majority of their nutrition from the thick adipose (fat) layers of these animals, which we lack. Due to this, when Great Whites do attack Humans these attacks are often broken off without the victim being consumed. Such attacks frequently result in severe injuries, but are seldom immediately fatal, with victims likely to survive if they receive immediate medical attention.

The distribution of Great White Sharks around Australia. Fishes of Australia.

Despite this general rarity, Australia appears to be suffering a sharp rise in Shark attacks, with five fatal attacks so far this year, three of them in the past five weeks, as well as several non-fatal attacks, the most recent of which occurred near Fitzroy Island off the coast of Cairns in North Queensland on Tuesday 14 July. Marine biologist Julian Pepperell has suggested that this increase might be linked to a rise in the number of Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, passing through Australian waters each year. Humpback Whales are a significant food source for many Sharks; adult Whales are beyond their hunting capacity, but do die of other causes and are enthusiastically scavenged, while larger Sharks such as Great Wights will attack Whale calves. Around 35 000 Humpback Whales currently migrate through Australian Waters each year, according to  zoologist Vanessa Pirotta of Macquarie University, a number which is growing by about 11% each year.

A Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, off the East Coast of Australia in July 2017. ABC.

Humpback Whales were nearly exterminated by commercial Whaling in the first part of the twentieth century. The species has been protected since 1946, and in recent years their population has appeared to be recovering in many areas, now being seen as being of Least Concern  under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. The Whales are recovering in many parts of the globe, and are starting to appear in areas where they have not previously been recorded.

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Tasmania hit by flash flooding.

Parts of Hobart and southeastern Tasmania have been hit by flash flooding after record-breaking rainfall in the area this week. Hobart received 129.2 mm of rain in 24 hours on Thursday 10-Friday 11 May 2018, the highest rainfall within 24 hours ever recorded in May in the city, and only the fifth time that rainfall in excess of 100 mm has fallen within 24 hours in the area at any time of year, with over 40 mm falling in one hour, the highest rainfall ever recorded in Hobart, while 236.2 mm of rainfall was recorded over the same period on Mount Wellington, the highest rainfall in 24 hours ever recorded in Tasmania.

 Floodwaters in Hobart this week. Patrick Gee/The Mercuary.

There are no reports of any casualties in these floods, but a number of people had to be rescued from vehicles and local emergency services are warning against unnecessary travel. Cars have been swept away in parts of Hobart, with many homes and businesses effected by flooding, as well as hospitals and the University of Tasmania. High winds have also caused damage to many homes, as well as knocking down trees and power lines; about 12 000 homes are thought to be without power across southeaster Tasmania.

Debris on the streets of Hobart, Tasmania, following flooding this week. Edith Bevin/ABC.

The flooding has been linked to a low pressure system over the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Tasmania. Low pressure systems over oceans are caused by warming of the air over the ocean, which causes the air over the affected area to rise, while fresh air is drawn in from elsewhere and in turn be warmed and rise. At the same time the heat causes high levels of evaporation from the ocean, so that the rising air is also waterlogged. Eventually this air rises high enough in the atmosphere that it matches the pressure of the air around it, at which point it stops rising and drifts with the prevalent wind. Eventually it passes into cooler areas, where it starts to lose its water as precipitation (rain), as cooler air cannot hold as much evaporated water as warmer air. As land has different thermal properties to water, this often means that the cooler areas encountered by the warm, waterlogged air are over land, leading to high rainfall in coastal areas. This system has also been linked to snowfall in New South Wales this week.

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Three dead in Australian Listeria outbreak.

Three people are known to have died and another twelve have fallen ill in a Listeria outbreak in Australia. All of the fatalities have occurred in New South Wales, with cases reported in Victoria and Tasmania. The outbreak has been linked to Rockmelons (Cantaloupes), Cucumis melo, from a farm in Nericon, New South Wales, with all but two of the effected persons known to have consumed  Melons before falling ill. Retailers in Australia have removed Rockemelons from sale as a precaution and people are being advised to destroy any saved Melons rather than eating them, particularly  if they belong to vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, elderly people or those with compromised immune systems.

Rockmelons (Cantaloupes), Cucumis melo. Scott Bauer/United States Department of Agriculture.

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative anaerobic Bacterium (Bacterium that does not need oxygen to survive, but which is not poisoned by it either) that is one of the most common causes of food-poisoning in Humans, causing an estimated 1600 infections and 260 fatalities in the US each year. It is a form of Firmicutes, tough cell-walled Bacteria that produce endospores capable of surviving desiccation and other extreme conditions, making the Bacteria very hard to eradicate.

 

 Electron micrograph of a flagellated Listeria monocytogenes Bacterium, Magnified 41 250 times. Elizabeth White/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikipedia.

 

Listeria monocytogenes is particularly associated with unpasteurised dairy products (such as raw milk cheeses), as it is primarily an infection of Ruminant Mammals. It can cause meningitis-type infections in Humans, and is particularly dangerous to the very old, very young and those with compromised immune systems. However it can also thrive in Human gastrointestinal tracts without harming the host (it is estimated that about 10% of people are infected) raising the possibility of direst Human-to-Human transmission.

 

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Contractor killed at Tasmanian mine.

A contractor at an iron-ore mine on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia, on Friday 17 March 2017. The worker, identified as Nathan Beesley, 32, from Devon in England is understood to have been scaling (removing small fragments of rock by hand) on a rock face at the Grange Resources-owned Savage River Mine, when he was struck by a piece of falling rock and fell to his death. He is survived by a wife and two young sons.

Nathan Beesley, left, killed at a mine on the west coast of Tasmania on 17 March 2017. Katie Beesley/BBC.

Mr Beesley, a former Sergeant in the Royal Marines, had moved to Australia in the hope of joining the Australian Defence Force, however the process had taken longer than he anticipated, and he had taken alternative work whole waiting for an interview. His wife has expressed concern as to the future of the family, as they are not yet permanent residents of Australia and may be obliged to leave in the absence of a breadwinner.

The incident is under investigation by WorkSafe Tasmania. This is the fourth fatality at a mine on the west coast of Tasmania since 2013.

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Worker killed at Tasmania copper mine.

A worker has been killed at the Mount Lyell Copper Mine at Queenstown, Tasmania, at about 8.00 am on Friday 17 January 2014. George Welsh (53) of Queenstown was buried by a mud discharge while working at a lower level in the mine. A mud discharge in a mine typically happens when excavation exposes a pocket of mud (a mixture of clay and water), which then flows into the shaft.

The Mount Lyell Copper Mine. The Advocate.

This is the third fatality in six weeks at the Mount Lyell Mine. on 9 December 2013 Craig Gleeson (45) and Alistair Lucas (25), died after falling over 20 m down a shaft during maintenance work, prompting a two week closure at the mine while an investigation was carried out. The mine will now be closed again while a fresh investigation is carried out by WorkSafe Tasmania and the Tasmania Police. 

See also Two workers killed in accident at Tasmanian copper mine, Worker killed at Western Australia ore mine, Mining company fined for desecrating sacred site in Australia's Northern Territory, Acid spill from gold mine adds to Edith River's woes and Copper spill causes pollution alert on the Edith River in the Northern Territory, Australia.

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Two workers killed in accident at Tasmanian copper mine.

Two workers have been killed in an incident at the Mount Lyell Copper Mine at Queenstown, Tasmania,  on the morning of Monday 9 December 2013. The men, who have been identified as Craig Gleeson (45) and Alistair Lucas (25), died after falling over 20 m down a shaft during maintenance work, though the precise cause of the accident has not yet been given, pending an investigation.

The Mount Lyell Copper Mine. ABC.

The Mount Lyell Copper Mine is operated by Copper Mines of Tasmania, a subsidiary of the Indian company Vedanta. It is generally considered to have a good safety record, though it was the site of the 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster in which 43 miners were killed in an underground fire.

The approximate location of the Mount Lyell Copper Mine. Google Maps.

See also Worker killed at Western Australia ore mine, Mining company fined for desecrating sacred site in Australia's Northern Territory, Acid spill from gold mine adds to Edith River's woes and Copper spill causes pollution alert on the Edith River in the Northern Territory, Australia.

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