Status: 09/21/2022 10:17 a.m
Many whales have again stranded off the coast of the Australian island of Tasmania. A similar mass stranding happened two years ago. Experts are still unsure what the cause could be.
Almost exactly two years after the largest known mass stranding of pilot whales in Australia to date, numerous marine mammals have again been washed ashore in the same bay. The roughly 230 animals, believed to be pilot whales, were spotted in shallow Macquarie Bay in western Tasmania. According to local authorities, about half of them are still alive.
In 2020, around 470 pilot whales had already strayed into the remote bay. It was the largest known mass stranding in the history of the fifth continent. Only 111 animals could be saved during a costly rescue operation.
Puzzling phenomenon
More than a dozen dead sperm whales were discovered on an island north of Tasmania on Monday. The 14 bodies were found off the coast of King Island, which lies between Tasmania and mainland Australia. Marine biologists and veterinarians should investigate the circumstances of the death. There is currently no explanation for the phenomenon.
One possible reason: higher water temperatures
Among other things, a change in water temperatures could be responsible for the mass stranding caused by the climate phenomena La Niña and El Niño, explained Karen Stockin, an expert on whale and dolphin stranding at Massey University in New Zealand, the Australian “Guardian”. Then the animals often come closer than usual to the coast, according to the researcher:
Pilot whales are very social creatures and if one is weakened or gets too close to shore, hundreds can follow.
Pilot whales are stranded more often than other species of the sea giants because they migrate in large numbers, the AAP news agency quoted marine biologist Olaf Meynecke of Griffith University in Queensland as saying. When a whale strands, the others usually follow. “They don’t do it because they’re stupid, but because of their emotional connection to the other animals.”