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Detailed explanation-1: -Notes: A pod of 240 pilot whales has lost their lives after being stranded on New Zealand’s Pitt Island in the Pacific Ocean. The pod of whales has been found on the Chatham Islands archipelago, which consists of Pitt Island and Chatham Island with minimal human presence.

Detailed explanation-2: -Pitt Island is the second largest island in the Chatham Archipelago, New Zealand. It is called Rangiauria in Māori and Rangiaotea in Moriori.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mass strandings of pilot whales are reasonably common in New Zealand, especially during the summer months. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes the whales to strand, although it appears their location systems can get confused by gently sloping sandy beaches.

Detailed explanation-4: -They are commonly found along the coast close to the continental shelf, although some populations have been found to extend into deep, open ocean environments such as in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Pilot whales are often involved in mass strandings for reasons that are still unclear.

Detailed explanation-5: -An estimated 240 pilot whales that became stranded on remote Pitt Island in the Pacific Ocean are now dead, just days after 215 whales died after becoming beached on nearby Chatham Island, New Zealand’s conservation office has said.