About 120 Short-finned Pilot Whales returned to the sea following mass stranding in Sri Lanka.

About 120 Short-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, have been returned to the sea, following a mass stranding event. The Whales began to wash up on a beach near Panadura, on the southwest coast about 25 km to the south of the capital, Colombia, on Monday 2 November 2020. Volunteers from the local community, joined by members of the country's Navy and Coast Guard, immediately began work to return the Whales to the sea, with most of the Animals thought to have been returned safely, although at least four have known to have died.

 

A Short-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, that died following a mass stranding event in Sri Lanka on 4 November 2020, one of four Whales known to have died as a result of the incident. Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images.

Short-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, are considered to be of Least Concern under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, with a global population of over 700 000 individuals, split into four distinctive populations, two in the Pacific and one each in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. They typically live in pods of eight to ten individuals, but sometimes assemble into larger groups, sometimes with many hundreds of individuals congregating at the same location. However, this behaviour can make these Whales vulnerable to mass strandings, if large gatherings become spooked or disorientated by some event. The actual causes of such strandings are unclear, with a variety of causes having been suggested, including naval sonar, soar activity, and anomalies in the Earth's geomagnetic field.

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Around 90 Long-finned Pilot Whales thought to have died in mass stranding on the west coast of Tasmania.

Around ninety Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, are thought to have died in a mass stranding on the west coast of Tasmania. A large group of about 270 individuals became trapped on two sandbars off the coast of Macquarie Heads on Monday 21 September 2020, and despite rescue attempts about third are now thought to have died. A team of 40 rescuers from the Tasmanian Marine Conservation Program have been attempting to refloat the Marine Mammals, though as of 5.00 pm local time on Tuesdat 22 September only about 25 Animals had been freed. It is, however, hoped that more of the Whales can be released over the next few days, with cold and wet conditions prevailing in the area, these being favourable for the Whales survival while stranded. Members of the public are being asked to keep away from the area in order to minimise the stress to the Whales.

 

Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, trapped on a sandbar off the coast of Macquarie Heads, Tasmania on Monday 21 September 2020. Brodie Weeding/EPA.

Long-finned Pilot Whales, a type of large Dolphin, are one of the most abundant Cetecean species, and are considdered to be of Least Concern  under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. They are highly social, typically living in small family groups of 8-12 individuals, but frequently come together to form much larger groups of several hundred Animals, and can often be observed socialising with members of other Dolphin species. They are also particularly prone to mass strandings, the reasons for which are not fully understood, but the large gatherings the species forms apparently makes them more vulnerable to such events, since more Animals will be involved in any such stranding than is likely to be the case with other Whale species.

 

Long-finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, washed up on a beach near Macquarie Heads. Tasmania Police.

 

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