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Rescue & Strandings News Archive 2008
Dolphins strand on Cape Cod beaches
(Added: 29 December 2008)
The Cape Cod Stranding Network was kept busy on Christmas Day due to 10 dolphins stranding themselves on beaches in the Massachusetts region. Three of the stranded dolphins died and a fourth had to be euthanised. However, the remaining six dolphins were all successfully returned to the sea.
Mass whale stranding in Tazmania
(Added: 23 November 2008)
Only eleven pilot whales survived a mass stranding in Tasmania recently, killing 53 others. However the Marine Connection is delighted to report that the animals that were released back into the ocean are doing fine after their ordeal.
Click here for full report and image
Whale stranded in loch found dead
(Added: 19 October 2008)
The Northern bottlenose female whale which strayed into a Highland sea loch a few weeks back has died. Its body was found in Loch Eil, near Fort William. These particular whales are usually found off the north and west coasts of Scotland and a post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted by the Scottish Agricultural College in Inverness. Very little is known about this species.
Rare whale dies
(Added: 06 October 2008)
A rare whale recently died on an Avalon beach, South Jersey, USA after rescuers tried for hours to save the Gervais' Beaked whale. There were no obvious signs of trauma to its body. This particular whale has a head shaped similarly to the bottlenose dolphin and is believed to be the rarest species of whale. Little is known about its behaviour but this species is usually found in the deep water of the northern Atlantic and in the ocean between southern Africa and Australia.
Sperm whale dies in the Firth
(Added: 06 August 2008)
A sperm whale which became beached in shallow water on a shoreline near Inverness has died. The 40ft adult male was first spotted swimming in the Inner Moray Firth on Monday 4 August, but eventually stranded in six feet of water at Alturlie, near Fort George , 24 hours later. Sperm whales are a deep diving species and the Moray Firth area would not provide the large squid they feed on. The Highland Council will dispose of the body.
Beaked whale loses fight
(Added: 04 August 2008)
The Northern bottlenose whale that recently stranded off the coast of Hampshire, UK was eventually euthanised. It became grounded on harbour flats in Langstone after becoming lost.
Click here to read full report and hear interview
Beaked whale strands on Hawaiian island
(Added: 29 July 2008)
A beaked whale recently beached itself on Molokai, an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Volunteers tried to save the animal but it was eventually euthanised. The whale's carcass was flown to Oahu where a necropsy will be carried out to hopefully find out what may have caused the animal to beach itself.
Dolphin strands in Cornwall
(Added: 18 July 2008)
An Atlantic white-sided dolphin, a species more commonly found in colder waters off northern Scotland and Iceland, recently stranded on a West Cornwall beach. The lone adult male was malnourished, disorientated and had to be euthanased. The animal was taken to a laboratory in Truro for a post-mortem examination.
Hopes of positive future for young orca
(Added: 08 July 2008)
New Zealand Conservation Department hopes the juvenile orca that beached itself and was recently released from Takapuna Beach will join up with a pod. A group of between 10 and 15 killer whales has been seen off Martins Bay. The whale is believed to be approx four years old and female.
Click here to read full report
Mass stranding off Thailand
(Added: 30 June 2008)
More than 30 small cetaceans that appear to be false killer whales stranded themselves on the beach at the western side of Racha Yai in southern Thailand on 26 June. All but one animal were successfully refloated back out to sea.
Mass dolphin stranding in Cornwall, UK
(Added: 10 June 2008)
On 9 June rescuers rushed to the aid of scores of dolphins at Porth Creek near Portscatho, Cornwall. Classed as the largest mass stranding of dolphins since 1981 when pilot whales were beached on the east coast, rescuers are still doing all they can to ensure no more animals strand.
Click here to read full report & updates
More beaked whale strandings
(Added: 02 June 2008)
Another two Cuvier's beaked whales have washed up on the Pacific Ocean side off Hokkaido, Japan just three weeks after another whale believed to be of the same kind was found dead in northern Hokkaido. Since March 2007, there has been over 80 whale strandings around Hokkaido. Only nine of these, including the most recent discoveries, were Cuvier's beaked whales.
33 whales die off Africa
(Added: 27 May 2008)
Rescue efforts recently to save long-finned pilot whales stranded on Dakar's Yoff-Thongor beach, West Africa represented the biggest mass stranding for 30 years in the area. Over 80 whales were involved in the rescue with 48 being put back to sea, many of them thought to be pregnant. Some of the dead animals will be examined to see if it sheds any light on to why some of the animals beached themselves.
Pygmy whale dies
(Added: 01 May 2008)
A two-metre pygmy killer whale saved from beaching at Denial Bay South Australia has died. It was initially returned to deep waters but restranded the next day. The whale's body has been sent to Adelaide to enable staff at the Australian Museum to carry out an autopsy.
Killer whale carcass discovered on beach
(Added: 22 April 2008)
A carcass of a killer whale was recently found on a remote Scottish beach. The adult male, eight metres long was found on Sandwood Bay, Sutherland, the most north-westerly beach in the UK. Interestingly, in the past month large groups of killer whales have been seen off Scotland's northern coasts.
Unanswered questions in dolphin deaths
(Added: 06 March 2008)
Twenty bottlenose dolphins were found dead recently on beaches in Galveston and Jefferson counties, Texas, rekindling a mystery that may never be solved. Almost 70 dolphins washed up on Galveston County shores between February and March, 2007. Those dolphins were badly decomposed, hampering efforts to test tissue samples. Of those tested, the results were either inconclusive or showed no abnormalities, the dolphins found recently were also badly decomposed, so drawing conclusions from tissue samples could again prove difficult.
Despite efforts, stranded whale dies
(Added: 28 February 2008)
Despite round-the-clock care the pygmy sperm whale rescued recently in the Keys, Florida has died. For hours volunteers were in the water with the whale, trying to keep it calm, moist and covered from the sun until transportation arrived to take it to the rescue centre. During the rehabilitation effort, volunteers held the weak whale who was unable to swim on its own. Pygmy sperm whale’s are not easy mammals to save and not many have been, most end up dying.
Further beaked whale strandings
(Added: 15 February 2008)
Three Gray's Beaked whales died after becoming stranded at Taupo Bay,New Zealand. They were among a small pod of five. Rescuers managed to help two whales out to sea but two adult females and a juvenile died.
Beaked whale stranding
(Added: 31 January 2008)
A rare Gray's beaked whale recently washed up at Okiwi Bay, 25km north of Kaikoura, New Zealand. The animal had injuries around its head and dorsal fin, was alive when it washed ashore but died shortly after. The whale's stomach contained a large number of parasites which suggested the whale had been unwell. Further samples will be analysed and forwarded to the whale database at the Museum of New Zealand.
Mass dolphin stranding in Massachusetts
(Added: 28 January 2008)
On 15 January 2008, 17 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were found beached - 10 at Loagey Bay and 7 at the Herring River, Massachusetts.
Click here for further details
Pilot whale stranding in New Zealand
(Added: 23 January 2008)
15 pilot whales have died after stranding in southern New Zealand, many others were refloated. The whales were found beached at two locations on Farewell Spit and ranged from calves to 20-foot adults.
Click here for further details
Good news for stranded dolphin
(Added: 17 January 2008)
A common dolphin which stranded at a beach in Marazion on the South Cornwall coast yesterday (16 January), has been successfully released by colleagues from BDMLR.
Click here for further details and news update - 22 January
Cause of whale death unconfirmed
(Added: 10 January 2008)
A necropsy has been completed on a dead True's beaked whale that washed ashore early January on Beach Haven, Pennsylvania but there are no details as to what caused the mammal's death. There was no food in the stomach and the only injury was a broken vertebrate from the forklift picking it up. The animal was a male and its next stop is the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., for a more in-depth look at its tissues which will take up to six months and includes the studying of the whale's ear canals and brain for sonar damage. Different parts of the whale will be sent out to different specialists.
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