Officials make difficult decision after discovering 90 whales stranded on beach: 'Whether this is a pattern … is yet to be determined'

Members of a protected species of whale have washed ashore in Tasmania, and rescue efforts have not been entirely successful, according to the Guardian.

What happened?

On March 4, 157 false killer whales were found beached along a remote section of Tasmania's northwestern shore.

"Our mass stranding events usually involve pilot whales. However, these are false killer whales, and it is our first large mass stranding of these animals in around 50 years," said Brendon Clark, liaison officer at the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. "They've been stranded now for, we estimate, 24 to 48 hours."

Attempts to float two of the beached whales were unsuccessful. Due to the duration of the beaching and the inaccessibility of the location, officials saw it necessary to euthanize the 90 surviving false killer whales. There was no explanation for the cause of the beaching, as no other animals were beached within about six miles in either direction.

"There are many natural causes such as lead animals getting sick, lost or disoriented, as well as other factors such as weather and magnetic anomalies," said marine ecologist Angus Henderson. "This is the third mass stranding in 5 years on the west coast of Tasmania, but whether this is a pattern with a discernible cause is yet to be determined."

Why is whale beaching concerning?

The false killer whale is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Precise causes of animal beaching are hard to pin down, but the marine environment is becoming an increasingly chaotic place. Heating of the upper levels of the ocean, proliferation of microplastics, water acidification, and marine travel noise all potentially affect animal migratory patterns.

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More research into beaching events like this one in Tasmania can help find solutions that can save animal lives. If the causes are found to be human-made, the research could make a case for reducing the damage we are making to ocean environments.

What's being done about beached whales?

Similar mass strandings in 2022 left 200 pilot whales and 14 sperm whales dead. Disposal becomes a challenge as the carcasses accumulate gas internally and can explode. To complicate matters further, whales maintain their protected status in death, so they'll need to stay in place.

Due to the remoteness of the current beaching, officials are still weighing the possibility of getting machinery there to bury the bodies.

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