Sperm whales are stranded in Australia

More than 20 fishermen flock to an Australian coast and rescuers are racing against time to save the two surviving children.

Two rescue workers examined the body of a sperm whale
Ocean coast in Tasmania island, Australia on November 13. (Photo: AFP)

The AP reported 22 sperm whales - each with a mass of up to two tons and a body length of up to 12 meters - washed over Ocean Beach, Tasmania from November 12 and died. After that, four other animals drifted into the island. Ocean experts and rescue workers helped the two children escape, but they could not do the same with the other two. The rescue force's efforts are hampered by bad weather.

Chris Athur, official in charge of wildlife rescue operations on Tasmania Island, said that sperm whales are so big that rescuers cannot pull them into deep water. Instead they have to apply more complicated measures.

'Lifeguards tie a special net to two boats and try to bring the net down to the bottom of the sperm whale and lift them up. This measure may work for large animals , 'Arthur described.

But rescuers have to halt work until today due to rough seas and high winds.

'We hope weather conditions will be more favorable in the next few days. The sperm whales were exhausted, but their fins still hit the water. The weather is against us, but if we handle it properly, the two fish can live for a few more days, ' said Arthur.

Hundreds of whales wash into Australia's beaches every year. The strands are usually in the summer, when whales migrate to or return from Antarctica. Scientists have yet to find out what caused them to land.

Sperm whale is the largest of the toothed whales. The body length of adult males can reach 15-18m, while the weight is from 45 to 70 tons.