Department liaison officer Brendon Clark said the stranding was the first by false killer whales in Tasmania in since 1974. That was a pod of more than 160 whales that landed on a beach near Stanley on the northwest coast. Strandings in Tasmania are usually pilot whales.

More than 150 false killer whales have been stranded on an isolated beach in the Australian state of Tasmania, with rescue crews trying to save the majority of the large dolphins that survived the ordeal,

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Dozens of false killer whales stranded on a remote beach in the Australian state of Tasmania will be euthanised after bad weather and the isolated location hampered efforts to push them back into the waters, Australian authorities said on Thursday.