Authorities are rushing to save more than 100 whales from a mass stranding at a beach in Western Australia's southwest with more than two dozen already dead.
Up to 160 pilot whales beached themselves at Toby's Inlet near Dunsborough, more than 250km south of Perth, on Thursday.
Parks and Wildlife Western Australia said 26 whales have died.
There are four pods of whales spread across 500 metres of beach with another two pods of about 130 animals offshore in the ocean.
Wildlife authorities are at the scene to try and save the creatures.
"Our team is assessing the conditions of the whales that have stranded on the beach," Parks and Wildlife said in a Facebook post.
"Our teams on the water are trying to keep the animals together and away from the beach."
Whale researcher Ian Wiese is at the "terrible" scene where he saw many of the dead creatures raising concerns the toll will rise.
"It's terrible. There are many dead on the beach," the Geographe Marine Research chair told ABC Perth.
"The others are just thrashing around, there will be many many deaths in the next few hours."
He said it is the biggest stranding event he has ever seen in the area.
The last mass stranding of whales in .
