The weekly weird
Beached whales in Indonesia
Recently, a desperate rescue attempt managed to save half of a pod of sperm whales which beached off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia.
WWF Indonesia said 10 whales were stranded, seven of whom were returned to the water thanks to the efforts of the navy and locals.
But sadly, three whales died on the beach and in a heartbreaking development for the rescuers, one of the animals that had been saved came back and was stranded again, this time fatally.
Dwi Aryo Tjiptohandono, WWF Indonesia’s marine and fisheries campaign coordinator, said the group was investigating how the whales had come to be stranded. Autopsies will be carried out on the dead animals.
It is not exactly clear why whales and other marine mammals get stranded, but experts say it can be a combination of factors, from old age, illness or injury, to accidental navigation errors.
“The strong social bonding of some species of whales can cause mass strandings,” according to Project Jonah, a New Zealand-based whale charity.