Whale strandings are a dangerous phenomenon that often leads to their death, but disaster was partially diverted during a recent whale beaching in Western Australia. Around 160 pilot whales were stranded on the Australian coast, but the majority of them managed to return to the ocean.
The whale beaching took place in the coastal town of Dunsborough, and hundreds of volunteers rushed to the rescue. According to the Department of Parks and Wildlife Service Western Australia, around 160 pilot whales were stranded ashore and around 130 were eventually returned to the sea.
Ian Wiese, the chair of the Geographe Marine Research group, was one of the volunteers leading the rescue, and things eventually turned out better than expected.
“My initial reaction seeing hundreds of whales all bunched (together) on the beach was just completely and utterly overwhelming. It was really, really chaotic. However, the final result was good news – as often with these events, it is only possible to save a few,” Weise told CNN.
Whale strandings often turn out deadly due to whales dying of dehydration, drowning when high tide covers the blowhole, or even collapsing under their own weight. There’s still no clear explanation for mass whale beachings, but it’s been connected to bad weather conditions, navigation errors, environmental factors, and most frequently the effects of mid-frequency active sonar.
