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Whale Beachings

Tragic mass stranding.

Fourteen young sperm whales have died in a mass stranding on a beach in Tasmania, Australia.

The whale carcasses were discovered by locals on King Island and reported to authorities on Monday afternoon.The reason for the stranding is unknown, but wildlife biologists and a vet have been sent to investigate. Whale strandings are not uncommon in Tasmania - experts say the island state is a "hotspot" for such events.

An aerial survey will determine whether more animals are stranded in the area, a state government spokesperson said.

Sperm whales, which are considered vulnerable globally, can grow up to 18m and weigh up to 45 tonnes.

Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said the dead whales were probably part of a "bachelor pod" - a group of juvenile male whales - that ran into trouble.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-62964645
 
Another tragic ending.

A whale has died after becoming stranded at a beach in Devon.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said it was called to the whale stranding at Babbacombe beach, Torquay. It was identified as a Sowerby's beaked whale, a deep-diving specialist species which "do not usually come anywhere close to the coast", the BDMLR said. A fishing hook was found in the mammal's tongue, and it had suffered recent trauma to the head.

BDMLR teams attended the beach on 12 September and said the whale appeared "painfully thin, with visible vertebra showing" as well as a broken beak.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-62979914
 
Of the circa 230 whales stranded on Tasmania's west coast, only 35 were left alive for a subsequent day's attempts at saving them.
Around 200 stranded whales die in pounding surf in Australia

A day after 230 whales were found stranded on the wild and remote west coast of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, only 35 were still alive despite rescue efforts that were to continue Thursday.

Half the pod of pilot whales stranded in Macquarie Harbour were presumed to still be alive on Wednesday, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said.

But pounding surf took a toll overnight, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service manager Brendon Clark said.

“We’ve triaged the animals yesterday as part of the preliminary assessment and we’ve identified those animals that had best chance of survival of the approximately 230 that stranded. Today’s focus will be on rescue and release operations,” Clark told reporters ...

“We’ve got approximately 35 surviving animals out on the beach ... and the primary focus this morning will be on the rescue and release of those animals,” Clark added.

The whales beached two years to the day after the largest mass-stranding in Australia’s history was discovered in the same harbor.

About 470 long-finned pilot whales were found on Sept. 21, 2020, stuck on sandbars. After a weeklong effort, 111 of those whales were rescued but the rest died. ...
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FULL STORY: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/w...hed-tasmania-rescue-efforts-underway-90251599
 
Sometimes it's only bits of a whale that wash up on the beach.

WhaleStomach?.jpg
Weird 'alien' sacks wash up on UK beach, most likely a whale's stomach

A strange, alien-like blob of flesh recently left beach-goers "baffled" after it washed up on the U.K. shoreline. Experts believe that the unusual object is actually a pile of whale guts that floated ashore.

Local resident Helen Marlow discovered the bizarre remains on Oct. 27 at around 12 p.m. local time while walking her dog on Marazion Beach, near Penzance in Cornwall, England ...

"It appeared to be a white, fleshy-looking substance," Marlow told Live Science ... "It had no definite features, such as limbs, but appeared to be one mass."

Marlow stumbled across the fleshy, seaweed-covered lump around halfway up the beach shortly after the tide had receded, which suggests that it had washed ashore.

It didn't have any "noticeable tears" or give off any "pungent, nasty or rotting smells," Marlow said. "I couldn't bring myself to touch it, but I did try to move it with my boot and, as I did, it wobbled a bit like a big, fat jelly." ...

Marlow uploaded photos of the fleshy lump to the British Marine Life Study Society Facebook group and received mixed guesses on what it could be. ...

However, after consulting with experts at the U.K.'s Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), it became clear that the gelatinous mass was actually a whale's stomach. It is unclear exactly which species of whale the stomach may have come from, but its size offers some clues. ...

The stomach likely came from a dead whale decomposing on the ocean surface far from the coast ...

It is unclear how often whale stomachs may wash ashore like this, as people typically report sightings of complete carcasses but tend to ignore the "bits and bobs" that turn up on their own ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/whale-stomach-washes-up-on-uk-beach
 

Chunks of Sperm Whale Wash Up on NYC Streets After Storm Surge​



A severe winter storm battered the East Coast Friday, leading to a storm surge that washed what appears to be slabs of a dead sperm whale onto the streets of New York City.

A Twitter user posted several photos of what looked like sperm whale flesh in the street near Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 116th Street in Queens.

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The pictures posted online showed chunks of whale with scarred skin and a layer of blubber. The parts could have come from the sperm whale that washed up on Rockaway Beach just over a week ago, as they were found only a few miles from where that whale was stranded.

The whale was identified to be a female sperm whale, an endangered species, and died on the shore near Beach 73rd Street. The New York Post reported that while the whale was young, likely between 3 and 5 years old, it was already 30 feet long.

https://www.newsweek.com/chunks-sperm-whale-wash-new-york-city-streets-after-storm-surge-1769452

maximus otter
 
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Took a long while to identify correctly.

A whale found stranded on a Welsh beach more than a decade ago has been identified as the first of its kind ever found in British waters.

Short-finned pilot whales are usually found in tropical to warm temperate seas and not in northern Europe. Researchers say it adds to growing evidence of aquatic mammals being affected by climate change. The whale stranded at Hazelbeach near Neyland, Pembrokeshire, on 1 March, 2012.

It was examined by the Defra and the Welsh government-funded Cetacean Investigation Programme (CSIP) and was initially identified as a long-finned pilot whale, globicephala melas, which are commonly found in British waters and strand frequently.

However, fresh analysis of its skull and teeth, described by scientists in a newly published article in the journal Mammal Communications, confirmed it was a short-finned pilot whale - the first found in British waters. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-64422703
 
Another humpback whale dies after washing ashore.

A 35-foot (11-metre) humpback whale washed ashore and later died on a New York beach, one of several discovered over the last two months along the shores of New York and New Jersey.

The whale was discovered Monday morning at Lido Beach West Town Park on Long Island, according to news outlets.

Officials said it was still alive when discovered but died a short time later.

Crews used a crane to pull the animal from the water so it would not be washed back out to sea.

Researchers hope to perform an examination to understand what might have caused the whale to beach itself.

The animal showed no obvious signs of trauma.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for the nation’s oceans and fisheries, said 19 humpback whales were stranded last year along the US Atlantic coast.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/stranded-humpback-whale-dies-on-long-island-beach-1426617.html
 
Pilot Whale in Wexford.

A dolphin and a pilot whale both washed up on separate beaches in Co Wexford.

The dead dolphin was found by a man out walking on the beach in the popular seas-side town of Courtown, Co Wexford.

A pilot whale also washed up in Fethard-on-Sea further down the coastline.

The latest mammal discoveries follow the discovery by Swiss tourists last week of a rare shark washed up in the same county in what scientists understand is the first official record of the species in Irish waters.

The 14-foot long smalltooth sand tiger (Odontaspis ferox) normally lives in sea depths of 110 m and was at the upper end of its size limits according to Trinity College scientists.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland...p-on-separate-beaches-in-wexford-1460489.html
 
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Sadly the whale perished.

A minke whale has washed up on a beach in East Lothian.

The 20ft whale was first spotted in the sea near North Berwick on Wednesday. It was hoped that it would be carried back out to sea, but tidal patterns caused it to come ashore. The whale hit rocks before it washed up on the beach overnight.

East Lothian Council has advised local people to keep a distance from the beach as arrangements are made to remove the carcass. A council spokeswoman told BBC Scotland that the whale was thought to be a humpback when first spotted. However, when it neared the shore it turned out to be a puffed-up minke.

She said: "Countryside Rangers based at North Berwick thought it would be washed out to sea. However, it came into the harbour late afternoon and was caught on rocks. As the tide came in, overnight it came onto the beach."
"People are advised to keep a distance and especially keep dogs away from the beach."

whale in North Berwick
IMAGE SOURCE, PETER ALLISON Image caption, The famous view of North Berwick was dominated by the 20ft minke whale carcass

The nearby Scottish Seabird Centre posted a picture of the dead whale.
inshore waters.

East Lothian sees about three or four whales washed up every year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-65312497
 
Another one.

An increase in sea levels and temperatures is resulting in rare sightings of mammals turning up on Irish coastlines more common.

The latest discovery of a dead juvenile humpback whale on a Co Mayo beach comes from the recent news about such species expanding their range to Irish northwest waters.

An Irish Whale and Dolphin Group spokesman explained that this was a ‘significant stranding record’ and strandings officer, Stephanie Levesque confirmed it is only the 11th humpback whale stranding record for Ireland.

It was found on Doughmakone Beach, south of Roonagh Point in Mayo last Thursday evening.

The site was visited on Friday by Mark Reed, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and Miguel Blasques from Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and what was gleaned was that the whale measured 8.45 meters in length, which would make it a juvenile or sub-adult.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland...more-mammals-on-irish-coastlines-1493732.html
 
Whale beaching on the Isle of Lewis.

More than 40 pilot whales dead in mass stranding on Lewis
Published
1 hour ago


More than 40 pilot whales have died after a mass stranding on a Western Isles beach.

About 55 of the mammals washed onto Traigh Mhor beach at North Tolsta on the Isle of Lewis at about 07:00 on Sunday morning.

Marine charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said only 10 had survived.

Police have urged people to avoid the area to give the whales "the best chance of survival".

A spokeswoman for the BDMLR said they were alerted to the mass stranding by police.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66215683
 
Whale washed up on a beach in St Mary's Bay, Kent, last night

The massive 30-foot creature, believed to be a Minke Whale, was found in St Mary’s Bay, Romney Marsh, Kent, by people who spotted it floating on the shoreline. The massive mammal is currently in deep mud and residents nearby have been told to stay away from it.

“In the meantime, it is strongly advised NOT to venture out to the animal due to the deep mud (otherwise known as quicksand) between the animal and the shoreline.”
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ramonmercado said:
Another tragic ending.

A whale has died after becoming stranded at a beach in Devon.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said it was called to the whale stranding at Babbacombe beach, Torquay. It was identified as a Sowerby's beaked whale, a deep-diving specialist species which "do not usually come anywhere close to the coast", the BDMLR said. A fishing hook was found in the mammal's tongue, and it had suffered recent trauma to the head.

BDMLR teams attended the beach on 12 September and said the whale appeared "painfully thin, with visible vertebra showing" as well as a broken beak.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-62979914
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Hopefully this one won't be beached.

A whale rarely seen in shallow waters has been spotted off the Welsh coast.

The Sowerby's beaked whale was seen off New Quay, Ceredigion, by sightseers on a dolphin watching trip. The whales are deep-diving oceanic species that typically live in waters over 1,000 meters (3280ft) deep, the Sea Watch Foundation said, adding that the sighting was a "significant" event.

The charity called on the public to report any sightings of Sowerby's beaked whales to them.

The Sea Watch Foundation, which works to protect whales, dolphins, and other marine life, said the information could help them to better understand the distribution and behaviour of the species.

"There have only been 13 confirmed sightings of Sowerby's whales in the UK since 2007," said Claudia Afeltra from the Sea Watch Foundation.

"While the sighting has not raised immediate concerns for the whale's well-being, as it appeared healthy and naturally retreated to deeper waters, we will closely monitor its movements".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66698092
 

That time a beached whale was dynamited on camera (Oregon, USA, 1970), with disastrous consequences.
 
Not whales but dolphins

Anglesey beach: Hero volunteers spend hours saving six dolphins stranded on sands

The Cemaes Bay Coastguard posted on Facebook: Something a bit different today we assisted volunteers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Medics who had spent the whole day saving 6 common dolphins that had got stuck on the beach.”

They added: "The amazing volunteers spent the whole day monitoring and assisting them until they managed to swim back out to sea with the evening high tide
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Doesn’t detail how they were assisted. Presumably they’d need to be kept wet for a start..

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