On the coast of Tasmania, Australia, there were at least 270 whales stranded; 90 of those animals already died while the rescuers said they fear that more whales are on the verge of death.
Pilot whales can weigh up to three tons and grow for about seven meters long.
Massive whale beaching
According to BBC, The animals were found on the west coast of the island on Monday. Marine biologists are rushing to save the pilot whales, but it would take them several days to rescue all of them.
According to Tasmanian Maritime Conservation Program rescuers, the whales were separated into three groups when they were discovered.
Whale beachings are common occurrences in Australia, a large number of animals similar to the recent incident has not been seen since 2009. Rescuers and scientists said that that the reason for why the whales were drawn closer to the shore remains unknown.
A wildlife biologist, Dr. Kris Carlyon, told reporters that most of the animals were relatively difficult to reach; a full assessment has yet to be achieved on Tuesday.
The attempts to start rescuing the whales began on Tuesday. Some pilot whales were simply too big that the rescuers did not have a suitable location for them. Dr. Carlyon stated they would rescue the animals with the best chance of survival first.
The report noted that witnesses discovered about 200 of the pilot whales washed up on the sandbar. About 30 more sea creatures were found about 100 meters away from the majority of the group. And another 30 were separated and trapped along the Ocean beach.
Scientists said that whales usually travel in large groups called pods as they migrate across the coast of Australia and New Zealand. Researchers noted that the creatures have one leader, and their strong bonds could be the reason for the whole group's beaching.
In 2018, more than 200 pilot whales died in New Zealand over the course of an entire week because of the same incident that happened on Monday at Tasmania's coast.
Similar sightings
In the shores of Northern Europe, a rare sighting of 29 beaked whales was discovered in August. Two weeks before the strandings of the animals, two north bottlenose whales were also found trapped in the North Sea, as reported by The Guardian.
Scientists have several theories as to why these strandings are happening. One of these reasons is storms. In the reports, bad weather may have caused a part in the events.
The whales that were stranded are deep-diving mammals that only feed at the deep parts of the ocean, and the storm can cause the whales to enter the shallow parts of the water because their navigational senses could be disrupted.
However, several scientific studies indicate it could be the usage of military sonar and seismic surveys that may be the culprit for the devastating incident.
Sonar technology may have scared the animals causing them to rush into the surface quickly. It may also have caused decompression sickness among the sea creatures because of the sudden rise from the water's depths.
