• The Environment

    Mass Whale Strandings in Tasmania

    By Laurie J. Schmidt Posted on 12.11.2008 6 Comments

    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.

    12.8.2008 at 04:25pm - Comment by kemojames

    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.



Download Our iPhone App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed



Become a Fan On Facebook

Share links with friends, comment on stories and more


December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

Check out the best of what's new here.

Popular Science Photo Pool


Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
tags_sprite.png
POP_embeddedForm_cover_May09.jpg