U.S. scientists probe beaching that killed 17 whales

September 2, 2012 – FLORIDA – U.S. scientists are to investigate what led 22 whales to beach themselves in Florida—killing 17 of them—one of three such incidents in North America over the weekend. The dead whales will be “dispersed at different labs across Florida for necropsy,” or animal autopsies, Blair Mase, regional stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told AFP on Sunday. Only five of the 22 pilot whales survived after beaching themselves Saturday morning at Avalon Beach State Park, on the east coast of Florida, despite efforts by volunteers and experts to save the group. So far, it is unclear why the whales swam ashore. Mase said experts would collect data to try to find out why the whales stranded themselves. The survivors, four juveniles and one calf, are “stable” and “swimming on their own,” Mase said. They are currently at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and will likely be transported later to SeaWorld in Orlando. However, two other groups of whales swam onto beaches in North America—one in Cape Cod on Saturday and another in Canada on Sunday—an occurrence that Mase said merited further investigation. “It’s very interesting that we’re seeing all these mass strandings occur in North America right now,” she added. Pilot whales are tightly knit and sometimes swim on to beaches as a group when one of them is ill. In those cases, Mase told local media, it does not help to push the whales back into the water, because they tend to quickly swim back to shore again. –Physics

16 whales die off Scotland coast: A total of 16 whales have died after being stranded on the east coast of Scotland. Ten others were refloated after being kept alive by vets from British Divers and Marine Life Rescue. The incident between Anstruther and Pittenweem in Fife involved pilot whales, each of them approximately 20ft (6m) long. The whales which survived will be monitored for the next 24 hours to see if they re-beach. Forth coastguard were alerted to the incident at about 07:00 BST on Sunday. Three of the whales which died were calves. The incident drew a large number of bystanders to the scene, prompting the coastguard to urge the public to stay away to allow rescue teams to carry out their duties. Coastguard teams from St Andrews and Leven, Anstruther lifeboat, and Fife Police assisted with the incident. A further 24 pilot whales, thought to be from the same pod, were spotted in shallow water about three miles away at Cellardyke. They have been monitored for signs that they are in danger of stranding. –BBC

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