A pod of over 50 pilot whales perished on Sunday due to a catastrophic stranding on a Scottish island's beach. According to the maritime charity British Divers Maritime Life Rescue, only one whale survived.
North Tosta on the Isle of Lewis notified the organization of the whales' beaching at 7 a.m. time zone. When rescue personnel arrived, only 15 of the roughly 55 beached whales were still alive, as reported by CBS News.
Whales Dies in Scottland
According to the marine charity, rescue teams attempted to refloat the remaining whales, but three more perished as they worked, leaving 12 whales still alive-eight adults and four calves. Around 3:30 p.m., doctors decided it was too risky to refloat the whales due to the choppy seas and shallow shore, so they were put to death.
The location was remote, so medics had to go up to five miles to acquire service to connect with rescue coordinators, according to the organization, making it an "incredibly complex rescue." Additionally, floating pontoons needed to be flown in. After Sunday's rescue operations, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue stated that the group was "desperately short of response equipment."
The marine charity thinks one of the whales beached while giving birth, although authorities have not decided what caused the mass stranding. According to the group, "Pilot whales are renowned for their strong social bonds, so frequently when one whale gets into trouble and strands, the rest follow."
Necropsies will be performed by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme to ascertain the reason. People were encouraged to stay away from the area to ensure that the necropsies could be performed without interruption. According to the organization, Sunday's beaching is Scotland's deadliest mass-stranding incident in decades.
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Recent Whale Stranding Led to Deaths
Two pilot whale stranding incidents in New Zealand last year resulted in close to 500 deaths. At least 380 whales died in Australia in 2020 as a result of a mass stranding.
In the Faroe Islands, a self-governing, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a traditional hunt killed 78 pilot whales just days before Sunday's catastrophic stranding.
Whale stranding, also known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.
The cause of whale stranding is not fully understood. Still, there are several possible explanations, such as some scientists believe that whales may be sensitive to geomagnetic disturbances, such as solar flares, and that these disturbances can disorient them and lead them to strand.
Another reason is changes in water temperature can also lead to whale stranding. For example, whales used to warmer water may become disoriented and strand if they swim into cooler water.
