Three baby Pilot Whales were rescued from the shallow waters of eastern Vava'u, in Tonga, after being stranded for nearly a week. But the mother whale and two other whales that were stranded with the pod died from injuries believed to be caused by a shark attack.

Filipe Tonga of Whales...’ Alive, Neiafu, said that six whales became stranded in the shallow water between the island of Okoa and the village of Makave on the main island of Vava...’u on Saturday, March 12.

Filipe said that the whales, which ranged in sizes from four to nine meters appeared to have been chased into the shallow lagoon by killer sharks, because some were badly wounded. He said that on Sunday March 13, three of the whales, including the mother, died. After a number of attempts to take the whales out to sea, Filipe and fisheries officials eventually succeeded on Friday March 19. Filipe said that they managed to tie one calf and tow him out, and the other two followed him into the deeper water.

Vava'u is a popular tourist destination and the centre of Tonga's whale watching industry. Tonga...’s whale season runs from June to October when a majority of Humpbacks with a few Sperm whales migrate from the Antarctica to Vava'u to give birth. Whale watching and the spectacular swimming with the whales attracts thousands visitors to Vava'u every year.

Filipe said that Pilot whales, which Tongans call Punga Punga, could be found in the Tongan waters all the year around, so their appearance in Vava'u at this time of the year is not unusual.