Pilot whales - Azores
Pilot whales - Azores
Pilot whales - Azores
Pilot whales - Azores
Mass Pilot Whale stranding in New Zealand
The New Zealand daily paper Nelson Mail reported today that some pilot whales have beached and died on South Island. Looking at the photos of the whales on the beach, I would think that they were ”long-finned pilot whales”. There are many theories why whales and dolphins beach. I personally believe that a lead animal of a whale or dolphin pod becomes sick, or becomes disoriented through environmental influences (e.g. noise). For even if the animals are returned to the sea they sometimes beach themselves again. Collective suicide is also possible, though I would not know why.
When I dived for a long time with a large group of long-finned pilot whales in the Azores last year, it became clear to me how enormously important the lead animal is for groups of dolphins or whales. A lead animal was constantly busy keeping the group together and keeping me in its field of view. It followed me most of the time, and pushed me away from the mother whales with young animals when I swam too close. I usually received a gentle swipe with the tailfin, and the lead animal looked me straight in the eye. It also bit other animals very gently in the body if they strayed too far from the radius of the group, or nudged them back towards the group. Eventually the whole group swam faster and faster, and I could no longer keep up. It was their way of telling me “we're out of here… ;-)” I'll never forget the experience.
Information on the Azores:
Espaco Talassa
www.espacotalassa.com/03_gb/21_pro/index_pro.htm
Malcolm and Dorothy Clarke's Museum:
www.bienal-baleias.org/malcolm/
Azores on Wikipedia
Marbef - Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
EU Network of Excellence
