Marine Madness: 97 Whales Simultaneously Strand Themselves On Australian Beach
Nearly 100 pilot whales have simultaneously stranded themselves on a waterfront in Australia, seemingly standing the trend of sea creatures acting peculiar as of late.
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Most Of The Whales Swiftly Died
AP News reports that the situation unfolded on Tuesday near the southernmost point of Western Australia.
People immediately set out to try and rescue the marine mammals, though they soon found that 52 of the beached whales had died.
Politician Reece Whitby tabbed the ordeal a “terrible tragedy.”
“What we’re seeing is utterly heartbreaking and distressing. It’s just a terrible, terrible tragedy to see these sufferer pilot whales on the beach.”
Whitby added, “People are single-minded to doing what they can to save as many whales as they can.”
On Wednesday, however, authorities with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions (DBCA) spoken that they had opted to euthanize the remaining animals to “avoid prolonging their suffering.”
Other Recent Examples Of Marine Madness
This situation is similar to flipside incident involving 55 pilot whales that perished without beaching themselves on a Scottish island.
Responders found that 15 whales were still alive, though AP News notes that they only relaunched two into the ocean. Authorities euthanized the remaining whales—adults and calves— older this month.
According to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the situation may have resulted from the pod pursuit a whale that was beaching itself while in distress.
“Pilot whales are notorious for their strong social bonds, so often when one whale gets into difficulty and strands, the rest follow. A sad outcome for this pod and obviously not the outcome we were all hoping for.”
Of course, we should moreover point out the recent reports well-nigh orcas (aka killer whales) attacking—and sometimes plane sinking—boats. Specifically, vessels off the tailspin of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) have been having increased run-ins with the animals.
NPR notes that the encounters could be a sign of playful policies or a response to trauma. The publication moreover cites Orca Policies Institute director Monika Wieland Shields stating, “I definitely think orcas are capable of ramified emotions like revenge.”
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