Whole pod of Pilot Whales dies on Scottish beach

[Catherine]

A pod of Pilot Whales was stranded on a Scottish beach. When help arrived only 12 of the whales were left alive. 
They were unable to save them and the whole pod perished.
It is not known why they ended up on the beach.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3g6xzrxy35o

https://www.livescience.com/animals/dolp...-stranding

It is quite disturbing that so many whales stranded. This seems to be happening more and more.
Sadly in this case none of them could be saved. Most of them had been there too long and were already dead. The still living whales were doing poorly.
You can see they were sinking into the sand. I feel bad for the rescuers who tried and couldn't even save one whale.

I hope the post mortem studies give some answer as to what went wrong.

[LPC]

(07-14-2024, 04:31 PM)Catherine Wrote: It is quite disturbing that so many whales stranded. This seems to be happening more and more.

You are right. This is happening more and more - and no conclusive evidence is ever released from post-mortems.
There is growing suspicion that the whales' sonar systems are being confused by the widespread use of sonar by fishing vessels and by the military:
"Some scientists believe sonar signals and other man-made loud underwater noises may contribute to beaching events. Low and mid-frequency active sonar is used by militaries to detect submarines, and for other acoustic exercises. These frequencies do not affect all species but can be deadly for some. Low sonar can cause hemorrhaging in animals exposed to the sonar, and others will beach themselves to escape the sound."
Source: https://wildlifeflorida.org/whales-beach/

[Catherine]

I think there is truth to the sonar theory. We pollute the oceans with a lot of noise. Whales communicate with sound so they must have good hearing.
Our noise pollution must really mess them up.