Mass strandings are reasonably common on the Chatham Islands, according to the DOC ... theories for why beachings occur. Some say the animals could be getting disoriented after following fish ...

a further 51 pilot whales died after becoming stranded on a beach on the Chatham Islands. While whale strandings are not uncommon, they usually involve just a single animal rather than a whole group.

A family on the Chatham Islands found almost 20 fragments of a historic canoe, or waka, in a sand dune, officials said and photos show. Photo from Manatū Taonga / New Zealand's Ministry for ...