humanely
ニュージーランドの浜辺に大量のクジラが打ち上げられました。その数は400頭にも上ったようです。座礁したクジラはボランティアによって沖に誘導されましたが，300頭近くは死亡しました。
記事の中で気になった単語は"humanely"です。『Wisdom英和辞典第三版』(三省堂)には「人道的に」という意味がありました。Oxford Dictionaries.comには"In a way that shows compassion or benevolence"と定義されております。クジラが岸に集まった原因は明らかになっておりません。(Ume)
New Zealand whales: Hundreds more stranded
Experts say that whales that become beached will send out distress signals attracting other members of their pod, who then also get stranded by a receding tide.
Sometimes the whales are simply old, sick, or injured.
Are whales attempting suicide when they strand themselves?
Andrew Lamason, from New Zealand's department of conservation, said those refloated had been tagged, whereas the latest arrivals were not, indicating that they were a new group.
He said 20 whales had been humanely killed by conservation workers as they were in a poor condition.
Officials have also been looking into how best to dispose of the whale carcasses.
Mr Lamason said that simply towing them out to sea could be problematic as they may become gaseous and buoyant and float into populated bays.
