WHAT? The beaching of a pod of 120 wales.
WHEN?:Sometime in the last few days
WHERE?: On the west coast of Tasmania
WHY?: ?????
Rescuers and marine conservationists have rushed to Strahan a remote western town in Tasmania in the hope of saving at least a few of the stranded 230 pilot whales now stranded on Ocean Beach. This is only one day after 14 sperm wales died in the same way on King Island in the Bass Strait
This phenomenon is not new to this side of the world. Just two years ago, on September 21, 2020, 470 pilot whales were found stranded in exactly the same place. Only 111 of them were saved.
The same pattern has occurred in New Zealand a number of times. Over the last 15 years at least ten independent strandings have occurred at Farewell Spit.
While the loss of these majestic creatures is horrendous, and the removal of the huge carcasses financially devastating – let alone traumatic, The question remains – Why?
Cetacean stranding often leads to death due to dehydration. Whales have an incredibly thick layer of insulating blubber. Without the water to keep them cool, they overheat and lose too much water via evaporation from their lungs.
It is not unusual for occasional mammals to wash up as a result of natural mortality, and sadly we must include human-induced death such as suffocating in fishing or shark nets. This cannot explain the apparently increasing occasions of what amounts to mass suicide in the same time frame. It cannot be considered mere coincidence. Surely there is some other factor we must consider.
Once again the only clue points back to climate change. Scientists believe that warming ocean temperatures move whales’ prey closer to the shore, forcing them to pursue their food in the shallow waters. Without the associated buoyancy and a turning tide, the weight of the whale’s own body crushing the internal organs will do the rest.
Whatever the reason for these horrific events, the pictures can only illustrate a modicum of the long-term trauma experienced by the people trying to save them.
Leave a Reply