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Rescue & Strandings News Archive 2010
Rare beaked whale found stranded
(Added: 23 December 2010)
One of the world's rarest whales, an Arnoux's beaked whale recently died on Otago beach, just north of Dunedin, New Zealand. This species is not often seen so marine scientists will take the opportunity to study the marine mammal then eventually give its skeleton to Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand.
Newborn dolphin beaches in Co Clare, Ireland
(Added: 07 December 2010)
A newborn bottlenose dolphin calf was recently washed up in Doolin, Co Clare. Measuring 1.2m in length and weighing only 21kg, it's the smallest bottlenose dolphin recorded stranded in Ireland. The bent dorsal fin and curled tail flukes appear to indicate it was newly born and sadly had live-stranded.
Looking out for stranded cetaceans
(Added: 22 November 2010)
So far this year, more than 500 dolphins, porpoises and whales have become stranded on British beaches and the public are being urged to report any instances as soon as possible to help understand further why so many are being found on beaches.
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Mass pilot whale stranding off Ireland
(Added: 08 November 2010)
There has been a mass stranding of approximately 35 long-finned pilot whales, off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland, forming the largest ever stranding in Ireland.
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Orca found on Irish beach
(Added: 14 October 2010)
Marine Connection recently received the news that the body of an orca had been found in Tullaghan Bay, Co Mayo. A post morten was carried out on the female and she was found to be pregnant with a large near-term female calf and her body was in good condition and causeo of death is as yet unknown. This is only the 15th orca stranding in Ireland since records began, and the seventh in the last 40 years. One of the whale's pectoral fins is on display at the Natural History Museum.
Rescued whale succumbs to illness
(Added: 05 September 2010)
Marine Connection has received the news from colleagues in Hawaii that the Blainesville beaked whale rescued several weeks ago has died, despite much effort to save its life. To date no beaked whale has ever survived to the point where it could be released back into the wild.
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58 pilot whales die in New Zealand beach stranding
(Added: 20 August 2010)
58 pilot whales have died after beaching on remote Karikari Beach in northern New Zealand. The animals stranded during the night which is why so many died before they were discovered.
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Update on rescued beaked whale
(Added: 20 August 2010)
The Blainville's beaked whale which was rescued and flown to Hilo, Hawaii recently (see report 18 August below), is improving well. She is the only live beaked whale ever brought into rehab in Hawaii and is currently receiving 24-hour care in her 25,000 gallon salt water pool. Tests indicate she may have a kidney disorder but hopefully after 2-3 months in care she will be released.
Stranded whale flown from Maui to Hilo
(Added: 18 August 2010)
A beaked whale found swimming near the shores of Maui, Hawaii recently was transported on a flight to the Big Island and taken to the new Hawaii cetacean rehabilitation facility in Hilo, where scientists will carry out tests to find out what's wrong with the animal. It had several bleeding scratches and at least one round wound, probably from a cookie-cutter shark. Beaked whales are the most extreme divers of all ocean mammals and can dive to depths of over 6,000 feet for periods of over an hour at a time.
Spate of unusual dolphin strandings
(Added: 14 August 2010)
Colleagues from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group recently reported there has been a spate of unusual dolphin strandings along the west coast over a seven day period.
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Dead dolphins at Monkey Mia
(Added: 27 July 2010)
Two bottlenose dolphins have been found dead at Monkey Mia, one of Western Australia's most popular tourist resort because some of the dolphins come very close inshore. One of the animals was a 30 year old male called Bly, his body has been sent to Perth for an autopsy due to concerns over sewage leaks in the area over the past three months. Bly was a resident of an area south of Monkey Mia, but was not one of the group that regularly interacted with tourists close to the resort.
Tests to determine fate of whale
(Added: 19 June 2010)
A dead sperm whale, found floating 77 miles due south of the Deepwater Horizon spill site is currently in the process of being tested to determine the circumstances surrounding its death, as well as information about its life. This is the first dead whale reported since BP's rig exploded although the animal was not found in oiled waters. Based on the estimated size of the whale, scientists believe it is a sub-adult. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetaceans in the upper Gulf of Mexico and spend most of their time in the upper Gulf offshore area.
Happy ending for Putita
(Added: 27 May 2010)
A group of volunteers recently helped refloat a 25-year-old killer whale that had beached itself at Ruakaka, New Zealand. Known to researchers, it's the second time this whale, Putita has beached himself in 11 years. His distressed mother and brother swam back and forther across the shore but luckily, he was finally returned to his pod half an hour after stranding.
Unusual porpoise strandings
(Added: 15 May 2010)
Necropsies are underway on 9 harbour porpoises that washed up on southern Vancouver Island recently, none of which suffered obvious external injuries. This particular species are listed as animals of special concern under the Species At Risk Act. Most of the dead animals appeared to be in good body condition with some of the females pregnant. The inner ears of the animals will also be inspected, as harbour porpoises are susceptible to acoustic trauma. Their numbers off Vancouver Island range from a low of 100 in winter to a high of about 1,000 in late spring and summer.
Fifth gray whale found dead
(Added: 18 April 2010)
Another grey whale has been found dead off the Pacific Northwest coast, bringing the total to five in just 10 days. Four of the whales were found dead in Washington's Puget Sound, the fifth beached near Victoria.
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Australia stranding kills around 30 dolphins
(Added: 15 April 2010)
Wildlife experts have rescued 11 dolphins beached in a remote area of the Australian island of Tasmania, with around 30 animals dying in the stranding. Up to 50 bottlenose dolphins stranded at the mouth of the Pieman river on the southern island's rugged west coast. Officials said that the dolphins may have entered the river to feed and then become trapped in a shallow part of the waterway.
Remains of rare whale to be studied
(Added: 26 March 2010)
A young 12 foot beaked whale, which stranded off Hamoa Bay, Hawaii and died had been bitten by Cookiecutter sharks. The 1,000-pound animal was flown to Honolulu where a necropsy and other studies could reveal new secrets about this little known species.
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Cape Cod rescue continues
(Added: 13 March 2010)
For a second day, rescuers continued their efforts to save surviving members of a pod of white-sided dolphins that became stranded after swimming into shallow mud flats off Cape Cod.
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Unusual stranding of whale and four dolphins
(Added: 08 March 2010)
A pygmy sperm whale and four dolphins washed up recently on the South Carolina coast, with all animals found apart and ranging from North Litchfield Beach to Bull's Bay off Awendaw.
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Dolphins rescued at Cudgen Creek
(Added: 07 February 2010)
The dramatic rescue attempt of two bottlenose dolphins in Cudgen Creek recently almost ended in disaster when one of the mammals became entangled in a net, however there was a happy ending. Several divers swam to the dolphin's aid and slowly brought the distressed animal back to shore to ensure it had not been injured.
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Third mass stranding in New Zealand
(Added: 25 January 2010)
Over the weekend, rescuers in New Zealand managed to refloat 33 pilot whales that had beached themselves, back out into deep waters. 15 other whales died.
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Rare whale carcass found
(Added: 20 January 2010)
The carcass of a Blainville's beaked whale, usually seen in deep waters near the equator, has been discovered on the shore of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, south-western Japan. The 5 metre whale was found dead with what appeared to be numerous shark bites, its skeleton will be used as a teaching resource for children.
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