Mass Whale Strandings in Tasmania

The cause of the sudden beachings remains a mystery

By Laurie J. Schmidt Posted 12.05.2008 at 10:38 am 6 Comments

Stranded Whale Rescue, New Zealand Chagai

For the second time in only two weeks, a large group of long-finned pilot whales has died after stranding themselves in a rocky area known as Sandy Cape on the remote western coast of Tasmania, Australia. On November 29, more than 150 whales died, turning the waters of the Indian Ocean red when they suffered deep cuts after being battered by rough surf and thrashing against jagged rocks.

Due to the area's remote location, rescuers were unable to reach the scene until a day after the stranding was reported. Still, they managed to save 32 whales with the help of a local fisherman who used his boat to herd the whales back out to sea. The dead whales were left to decompose naturally.

Just one week earlier, more than 50 whales died after becoming stranded on another nearby beach. Because Tasmania is along the whale migration route to and from Antarctic waters, strandings there are not uncommon. According to Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries and Water, 75 whale stranding incidents have occurred since 1900, several of which involved more than 200 animals.

Pilot whales are among the most social marine mammals, often traveling in pods that include hundreds of individuals. Although these strong social bonds help the whales survive, their herding behavior can also lead to their demise -- as one whale emits a distress call that prompts the other members of the pod to follow. Some scientists believe that the whales become stranded when they are forced to chase prey too close to shore. Predators like killer whales can also cause "panic" within a whale pod, disorienting them and "herding" them towards the shoreline. Other researchers have suggested that the whales' echolocation system may not detect gently sloping coastlines. More controversial theories attribute whale beaching to military sonar and changes in the Earth's magnetic field, which could interfere with the animals' ability to navigate. But none of these theories have yet been proven, and the reason behind mass whale strandings is still a mystery.

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6 Comments

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deafwhale (not verified)

12/06/08 at 4:04 am

After almost 40 years of research, the Deafwhale Society Inc. has finally solved the centuries-old mystery of why pods of whales mass strand. As it turns out, these pods are injured several weeks prior to stranding by violently seafloor earthquakes. Read the latest at:

http://deafwhale.com

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SAMI100

12/07/08 at 1:04 pm

I think it is terrible what is going on. It is not understood what the reasoning is, but whales are such beautiful animals and these mass standings could potentially cause extinction. I believe more money should be put into the research of why this is happening, but i also believe an orginization of some sort should be set up towards testing the cause of these terrible events.

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AndrewBio

12/07/08 at 7:35 pm

Quite an interesting article. I was completely unaware of the fact that this many whales were swimming onto shore. I struggle to picture the Indian ocean tainted red due to all the whale blood. I agree with SAMI100 we should fund a program in order to solve this mystery, because soon we will no longer to be able to enjoy the majesty that whales provide to any on-looker.

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kemojames

12/08/08 at 4:25 pm

I am no professional, but the thought had crossed my mind that some animals use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate as well. There have been reports of an anomaly in the south Atlantic where the polarity is reversing. Maybe this could confuse the whales causing them to travel in a completely different direction than they intended. Tests have been carried out on know magnetic field navigators such as bats and they have come up conclusive to this theory.

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Mike_R

12/08/08 at 9:33 pm

It would be nice to see more research into these whale beachings, but you can be any evidence pointing the finger at military sonar testing will be ignored in this country. The Supreme Court has already made it clear that if the Navy's high-power sonar is killing any of these majestic creatures -- too bad. Hopefully we'll see a little more balance and respect for sea life in this next administration, and any new appointees to the Court.

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Mike Cook

from Kent, WA

12/09/08 at 10:11 am

Most animal populations tend to boom and crash depending on a lot of factors, such as predation, fluctuations in the food supply, habitat changes like flood or fire, etc. While humans like the comfortable reassurance of a static ecosystem, that isn't nature's way.