Massive stranding in NZ (1 Viewer)

Andy Adcock · Feb 10, 2017

Must be distressing for those involved, people and Whales.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38927416

A

Andy Adcock · Feb 11, 2017

More news on this is that the volunteers refloated many of the Whales but another pod of 240 animals has stranded since, very sad.

This surely puts paid to the idea that it's only sick or injured animals that get stranded, all these animals can't be sick?

A

Farnboro John · Feb 11, 2017

andyadcock said:
More news on this is that the volunteers refloated many of the Whales but another pod of 240 animals has stranded since, very sad.

This surely puts paid to the idea that it's only sick or injured animals that get stranded, all these animals can't be sick?

A

With Pilot Whales in particular it seems that healthy animals will blindly follow leaders within the group, and if leaders strand, perhaps due to ill-health, then mass strandings are likely.

Noting that some at least of the refloated whales have stranded again - and, it would seem, led additional animals into stranding that presumably would not have done so otherwise - perhaps a major rethink of the so-called rescue process is needed.

It's no good refloating sick individuals that will restrand and, as here, lead animals not involved in the original stranding event to their doom. If humans can't pick out the sick cetaceans during the refloating process and thereby prevent this kind of additional event, they shouldn't be interfering at all.

John

dantheman · Feb 11, 2017

Not necessarily 'sick' individuals, but ones with damaged sonar due to human causes.

If there's a good chance it's a human-caused problem (not sure if widely accepted or not, but that may be in part down to the military cover-up if indeed it is related to unknown nuclear/submarine/depth charge testing etc etc), then of course it is fair game to try and remedy the situation.

Of course sometimes natural events can occur ...

Nutcracker · Feb 11, 2017

dantheman said:
... military cover-up if indeed it is related to unknown nuclear/submarine/depth charge testing etc etc), ...

Or commercial, such as testing for oil reserves

Farnboro John · Feb 11, 2017

dantheman said:
Not necessarily 'sick' individuals, but ones with damaged sonar due to human causes.

If there's a good chance it's a human-caused problem (not sure if widely accepted or not, but that may be in part down to the military cover-up if indeed it is related to unknown nuclear/submarine/depth charge testing etc etc), then of course it is fair game to try and remedy the situation.

Of course sometimes natural events can occur ...

Yeah, I've heard all this before. I don't buy it. If it was the case, WWI and WWII would have been accompanied by mass strandings that would have emptied the Atlantic of cetaceans - they weren't - and New Zealand is well known for relying on its remoteness to substitute for strong defences but is a place that often has mass strandings albeit not quite on the present scale.

In addition the whole idea of undersea warfare is to be as quiet as possible, the main sonar systems in use on modern subs are passive listening devices, the big transmitter is a last resort: and finally dolphins habitually bow-ride on both civilian and military vessels which have their sonars/echo sounders in the bulge below the bow exactly where the cetaceans like to be: if they were feeling the effects of being at a rock concert they wouldn't do it.

There is a huge appetite in some portions of the human race for assuming humans are responsible for everything in the world - it isn't so in this case and it doesn't stand up to any kind of scrutiny.

John

Jos Stratford · Feb 11, 2017

Farnboro John said:
Noting that some at least of the refloated whales have stranded again - and, it would seem, led additional animals into stranding that presumably would not have done so otherwise - perhaps a major rethink of the so-called rescue process is needed.

Maybe a little hasty with the 'so-called' label.

According to New Zealand Department of Conservation, the refloated whales were all tagged, whilst the whales involved in the new stranding are not. Thus, it would seem it is a new group and not led by refloated animals.

Farnboro John · Feb 11, 2017

Jos Stratford said:
Maybe a little hasty with the 'so-called' label.

According to New Zealand Department of Conservation, the refloated whales were all tagged, whilst the whales involved in the new stranding are not. Thus, it would seem it is a new group and not led by refloated animals.

That's a different story then and I reconsider my hasty post accordingly o

(I endorse the tagging approach as well.)

John

Jos Stratford · Feb 11, 2017

Farnboro John said:
That's a different story then and I reconsider my hasty post accordingly o

(I endorse the tagging approach as well.)

John

:t:

Jim M. · Feb 11, 2017

Link suggesting whale strandings occurred even in prehistory, and noting one of the largest on record occurred in 1918 on the Chatham Islands and involved appx 1000 individuals:

https://historygeek.co.nz/2015/02/15/a-short-history-of-whale-strandings-in-new-zealand/

Link suggesting strandings result from multiple causes:

http://www.projectjonah.org.nz/Stranded+dolphins++whales/Why+Whales+Strand.html

katastrofa · Feb 21, 2017

I remember reading that because of overfishing, many whales are literally starving. Starving animals are likely to be less careful about where they are going and thus more likely (in case of whales) to strand.

Massive stranding in NZ (1 Viewer)

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Andy Adcock

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