Status: 09/21/2022 10:17
Many whales have again beached themselves off the coast of the Australian island of Tasmania. A similar mass stranding happened two years ago. Experts are still not sure what the cause could be.
Almost exactly two years after the largest known mass stranding of pilot whales in Australia to date, several marine mammals were washed ashore in the same bay. The approximately 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.
By 2020, around 470 pilot whales had already been lost in 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.
intriguing phenomenon
More than a dozen dead sperm whales were discovered on an island in northern 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. Currently, there is no explanation for the phenomenon.
Beached whales in Macquarie Bay, Tasmania Image: AP
One possible reason: higher water temperatures
Among other things, a change in water temperature could be responsible for the mass stranding caused by the weather phenomena La Niña and El Niño, explained Karen Stockin, a specialist in whale and dolphin stranding at Massey University in New Zealand, the “Guardian”. australian Then the animals tend to get closer than usual to the coast, according to the researcher:
Pilot whales are very social creatures, and if one of them is weakened or comes too close to shore, hundreds can follow.
Pilot whales are stranded more often than other species of marine giants because they migrate in large numbers, according to the AAP news agency, citing marine biologist Olaf Meynecke of Griffith University in Queensland. When one whale runs aground, the others usually follow. “They don’t do it because they’re stupid, but because of their emotional connection to other animals.”