After the rescue of a large number of 160 pilot whales that were stranded on Australia’s west coast on Thursday, the marine mammals have not yet returned to the coast. “This is a great result,” whale expert Vanessa Pirotta told 7News on Friday. Employees of the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation, veterinarians and hundreds of volunteers had tried for hours to save the animals in distress.
Among other things, they kept the heads of the whales lying in shallow water above water so that they could breathe. Eventually most of the animals managed to get back into deeper water. But any help came too late for almost 30 pilot whales.
On Friday there was a warning about sharks in the region around the small town of Dunsborough, 250 kilometers south of Perth. Predators are often attracted to whale carcasses. There was also continued concern that the rescued animals could turn back and become stranded again – a phenomenon that has been observed in the past.
There was also a baby among the animals that died. Some volunteers burst into tears at the sight of the dead whales. “These approximately 30 specimens will make a contribution to science,” emphasized Pirotta. It is important to study the behavior of whales before a stranding in order to understand why entire pods swim towards shore. “Because once they’re on land, the clock starts ticking – and we don’t know what happened before.”
Mass strandings of whales continue to puzzle research to this day. One theory is that sick or injured animals get lost and the others follow them. Pilot whales in particular, which often travel in large groups, build extremely close bonds with one another. Experts also believe it is possible that whales become disoriented due to acoustic pollution, such as ship sonar devices.
