Scientists have told why whales are washed ashore. Why are whales and dolphins being washed ashore? Blue whales are thrown away

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Some scientists believe that cetaceans are thrown onto beaches due to health problems caused by ocean pollution.

As scientists tell us, cetaceans - all types and subspecies of whales and dolphins, and porpoises - are extremely intelligent creatures. They have a kind of semblance public relations, dialects of "language" and even self-awareness.

And the same scientists cannot understand why these conscious mammals regularly commit mass suicide.

Every year, there are reports from all over the world that whales and dolphins are thrown onto the beach in flocks, and, being unadapted to life on land, they die there.

The last such incident occurred on January 12 in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the south of the country, where more than a hundred short-finned grinds threw themselves onto one of the beaches at night.

Local residents managed to save more than 30 of them, with great difficulty the animals were dragged into deep waters. The rest were killed.

Such incidents have been known for a long time, even Aristotle wrote about them. But there is still heated debate around the question of why whales and dolphins do this.

Professor Vsevolod Belkovich, head of the laboratory of marine mammals at the Institute of Oceanology in Moscow, says that the most popular theory is that something happens to one or even two whales, after which they send out a distress signal and the rest come to their rescue.

"One hypothesis is that the animal is seriously ill. And they have a reflex - sick dolphins try to get some kind of support from their relatives, to lean on someone, to save energy afloat," he says. And if this sick dolphin or whale finds itself in shallow water, its relatives follow it.

Darlene Ketten of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts agrees. According to her, in some cases, the reasons for this behavior are known - for example, dolphins living off the northeastern coast of the United States often get pneumonia and then are washed ashore.

Like humans, dolphins - unlike whales - have also been seen to sometimes attack and kill not only porpoises, sharks or seals, but also other dolphins that are not related to them. Accordingly, there is a possibility that sometimes a whole flock tries to hide from the attackers, and swims too close to the shore, and at low tide it turns out that the animals are stuck on land.

The largest incident of a massive release of black killer whales on the beach was recorded in Argentina in 1946, when 835 animals were immediately on the shore.

Grindas, also known as black dolphins, are particularly noted for this behavior, again for some unknown reason.

According to Vsevolod Belkovich, the reason may also be that dolphins and other cetaceans were simply stunned and lost their acoustic control over the environment. It is assumed that the reason for this is technogenic. Either these are military sonars, or they fall into the irradiation zone of the ship's navigation devices, and this incapacitates their hearing organ. They stop picking up echoes well.

Under normal conditions, these animals, with the help of reflected echoes, can determine what is ahead - a coast, a rock or a fish, and in case of hearing loss, they may not notice this. In 2001, researchers from the Bahamas discovered a link between the number of dolphins thrown onto the beach and a nearby US Navy sonar exercise.

The Pentagon has already promised several times to limit the use of these devices, so as not to interfere with the normal life of cetaceans.

However, as noted by Darlene Ketten, scientists do not yet know exactly how sonars can affect the hearing of these mammals, and therefore there are suspicions that they can affect different types of cetaceans in different ways.

In addition, as Vsevolod Belkovich notes, we know that dolphins and whales have lived in the same habitat for millions of years, and if this environment somehow changes, it causes persistent changes in behavior.

According to him, if a tourist camp suddenly appears on the seashore, and it becomes noisy and unsafe for dolphins there, they change their routes of movement and begin to bypass this place. They continue to do so even after the camp closes.

In other words, he says, we humans spoil the lives of ourselves, dolphins, and whales.

But it should be noted that science is based on skepticism and countertheories (otherwise it would be theology, not science). In the case of dolphins, Darlene Ketten offers one such countertheory, graceful and elegant in its simplicity.

She reminds us that, in fact, we know very little about why dolphins and whales are washed ashore, and importantly, all reports of this come from places where there are relatively many people.

The world's population has increased dramatically over the past decades, and the number of reports of whales and dolphins on the beach correlates with this increase. Lifestyle in many countries has also changed and people are spending more and more time on beaches and coasts.

And it may well be that we are just observing a natural process.

But we just started to notice it more and more often.

Why whales are washed ashore: who are whales + how long have whales been washed ashore + the main reason for their "suicide" according to scientists + other possible reasons for being washed ashore + the consequences of whales approaching shallow water + how to help a whale that has washed ashore.

to their inevitable death. Why whales are thrown ashore, and how to help unfortunate animals in such a difficult situation - read the article.

What is known about whales today?

It seems that everything has been known about whales for a long time. There is hardly a man left on the planet who has not heard about these majestic animals.

So, what do we know about whales:

• Whales are the largest animals on our planet. Blue whales can weigh up to 200 tons. Their heart is proportionate to that of a passenger car.
• Contrary to belief, whales are not fish, but mammals. They feed their babies with milk from the mammary glands, which means they belong to the number of animals.
• Whales live mainly at depths. They rarely swim to land.
• Whales are considered one of the most intelligent mammals. They are able to communicate with each other and be aware of what is happening.

Despite the fact that whales are very intelligent animals, they are often washed ashore, thereby committing a kind of suicide.

A large number of cetacean species are known, and they all tend to be washed ashore.

Why this happens, scientists have not yet figured out. For decades, there has been a debate among researchers of the deep sea about why whales, having such an intelligence, do not act so carefully.

How long have whales been washing ashore?

However, in the books of ancient scientists, you can find many interesting records on this topic. As historians have found out, for the first time that whales are thrown ashore, it became known to Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher.

Since then, whales have been thrown ashore at regular intervals, which most often leads to their death.

How many whales are washed ashore during the year: statistics

This has led to the fact that today the number of whales is rapidly declining.

The situation is also aggravated by the fact that in some regions, despite the state ban, whale hunting continues.

Why whales are washed ashore: the main reason according to scientists

Most scientists tend to think that the reason for the mass suicide of whales is a loss of orientation or, in other words, a violation of the echolocation mechanism.

What is echolocation?

Echolocation is a method of orientation in space used by many animals: whales, dolphins, bats and some birds. He assumes that the animal makes a sound that bounces off objects or objects around. Animals catch the bounced echo and thus orient themselves on how close objects are to them.

In this way, the whale can navigate how close the land is to it, and how far it can swim without harming itself.

It is logical that if this mechanism in a whale is disturbed, and for some reason it cannot orient itself in space, it can accidentally get too close to land, after which tidal waves will literally force it to be washed ashore.

The ability of whales to echolocate looks like this:

BEFORE	AFTER
A whale that can beat sound moves across the ocean, determining the distance between objects. He can easily determine what is closer to him: rock, land or predator.	A whale that has lost the ability to hear moves in the water like a blind man. He cannot correctly recognize objects in front of him, from which he falls into a trap.

Why whales can lose the ability to echolocate is not clear.

The reasons for this can be very different:

• Infection or illness.
• Ocean noise pollution.
• Environmental pollution.

It is most likely that sonar, the objects of detection of underwater objects that are used in navigation, have a negative effect on the hearing organs of whales.

There have also been several cases of whales thrown ashore whose hearing organs were affected by an infection.
Until now, scientists have not been able to determine what exactly leads to hearing impairment in cetaceans, since different factors are present in different cases.

Alas, no noise pollution of the ocean, no infection in the organs of hearing have been confirmed in 100% of cases of whales being thrown onto land.

Other possible reasons why whales are washed ashore

Their involvement is also not 100% proven, but there is a high probability that these reasons can also lead to the mass death of cetaceans.

Over the years, scientists have named many reasons why whales are washed ashore. Unfortunately, no one has yet succeeded in either confirming or refuting one of them.

Moreover, over time, another theory of the death of animals appeared - UFOs. Some researchers claim that in those places where whales are thrown ashore, people more than once noticed bright objects moving across the sky.

But such a theory has not yet been confirmed, therefore, scientists do not include it in the list of possible causes.

What are the consequences of whales being washed ashore?

Their large size does not allow moving in the direction of the water, because of this, they simply die in the scorching sun.
It is very rare to save whales.

Examples from history, when whales were massively washed ashore and died

V last years whales began to be washed ashore more often, but often they do it alone or in groups of up to ten animals.

But stories are known and cases when whales were thrown onto land in large quantities.

The most tragic day in the history of whale dumping on land was October 10, 1946. On this day, 835 animals came to the shore, of which only a few were saved.

Later, in 2015, more than 300 whales were found on the coast in Chile, and three years later, in 2018, another hundred whales were found on the coast of Madagascar.

Despite the efforts of people, scientists and volunteers, no more than one third of the whales were saved in each case.

About why whales are so often washed ashore, and about other cases of mass suicide of whales, see the video:

The reasons why whales are washed ashore.

The most famous cases of mass suicide of whales:

How can you help whales that have washed ashore?

Once on land, whales find themselves in a trap from which they cannot get out on their own. To be saved, they need human help.

Often, when someone discovers a whale on land, representatives of local authorities, researchers, volunteers and ordinary citizens immediately gather to save the animal.

In order to help the whale in this case, you must act as follows:

Steps	Description
Step 1.	In order to shelter the whale from the sun, people make a tent that will serve as a shelter for the whale.
Step 2.	Since the whale's body is very large and loses moisture quickly, it needs to be watered constantly to protect it from dehydration.
Step 3.	To save a whale, you must certainly drag it into the water. It can be difficult to do this, since its weight can reach 200 tons, and the body remains very slippery for a long time.

Only by rallying together, people manage to help the whale return to its usual abode. But, alas, it often fails to do this.

Important: Some scientists insist that whales should not be rescued. They explain their point of view by the fact that the whale can be sick, and returning it to its habitat, you can endanger other whales.
Other researchers tend to think that the whale population increases in proportion to human fertility. Therefore, they are thrown ashore from the fact that their number has grown too much.

It’s hard to tell what is the right thing to do when it comes to saving cetaceans. However, most scientists insist that the animals need to be helped, otherwise, soon they will not be left at all.

It is worth noting that sometimes a whale thrown onto land can still be saved, but due to the fault of people, this cannot be done. We are talking about those cases when, instead of calling for help, people are taken to take photos near unfortunate animals.

Why do whales get washed ashore? There are many reasons for this, and there is no consensus on this matter. In some cases, noise pollution of the ocean led to the death of whales, in others - infections and animal diseases. The only thing that can be unambiguously stated is that caring for animals is our duty, and the life span of cetaceans depends on human actions.

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People have long watched the tragic death of whales and dolphins on the shore. Even Aristotle, who was the first to describe the habits and characteristics of cetaceans more than 2,300 years ago, mentioned the sad tendency of whales to run aground suicidal. In his Historia Animalium, Aristotle wrote: “It is not known why they are thrown onto dry land. In any case, it is known that they do it at times, and for no particular apparent reason. " Once on the shore, the whale slowly and painfully dies under the weight of its own body. Why are whales washed ashore? This happens too often to be considered an accident. There are several hypotheses in this regard.

Fig. 1 Humpback whale

1. Weakness or injury.

A whale, being sick or wounded, loses its ability to fight the current and ends up on the shore. This explanation looks logical and prosaic. Often dead and dying marine animals are found on the coast, with damage received at sea from ships, fishing nets and from predators. The natural old age of whales can be attributed to the same hypothesis. Interestingly, whales as such do not grow decrepit. But with age, their senses weaken, and they break on underwater rocks, find themselves aground, or become prey for sharks and killer whales. Whales retain their reproductive ability throughout their lives. The bowhead whale is the longest-living warm-blooded animal. Their age, judging by the harpoons removed from the bodies, can reach 200 years.

2. Periodic changes in the environment.

Scientists at the University of Tasmania studying whales analyzed data collected over 82 years of monitoring off the coast of Tasmania and Australia, and noted that cases when whales are washed ashore are more frequent every 11-13 years, and this coincides with change of the wind rose. Perhaps the changed wind is driving plankton and small fish to the shore, luring whales too close to the shore. It is also possible that the changed wind changes the wave in the ocean, which in turn disorients the whales, and they get too close to the shore. Once in shallow water, whales quickly get tired and die. Ocean tides are also dangerous for whales and dolphins. Only the California gray whale can easily tolerate drying out at low tide.

Fig. 2 Rescuers help a dolphin in the low tide zone to wait for high tide.

3.Sociality of whales

Durable social connections within the herd may be the reason why whales are washed ashore in droves. If one whale gets into shallow water and cannot get out, it begins to emit a distress signal, relatives seek to help it and also run aground. Illness and weakening of the whale - the leader can destroy the entire herd. According to one theory, whales still have a deep instinct inherited from their land ancestors: they are afraid of drowning. The weakened whale swims upward, closer to the air, and the rest of the herd follow him. Whales are characterized by mutual assistance, it is a known fact that dolphins save drowning people. But it is this quality that destroys them.

Fig. 3 One of the most massive known deaths of grinds. 400 of them landed on the coast of New Zealand, some were rescued, but the next day another 200 grinds followed suit.

4 . Impact of people.

Although submarines and sonars are relatively recent, it is difficult to ignore their impact on the environment, in particular whales. On the shores of Great Britain over 20 years, the number of cetaceans escaped has increased by 25%. Environmentalists and scientists attribute this to the use of powerful military sonars. Whales have fine hearing, and the loud sound of sonars scares them, makes them rapidly rise to the surface or go to depths, and disorients them. But this is not the worst thing, too fast ascent from a great depth to the surface can threaten decompression sickness, known to divers. With it, gas bubbles form in the blood from a rapid change in pressure. Examination of the bodies of whales confirms the presence of gas bubbles in the blood.

In the middle of the twentieth century, US Navy ships were actively conducting exercises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. It was found that cetaceans did run aground more often when the ships of the navy were practicing operations there using sonars. Now exercises in the habitats of beak beaks are prohibited. In 2000, 17 cetaceans of 4 different species were stranded on the shores of the Bahamas following sonar drills in the area.

5 . Geomagnetic navigation error.

Many migratory animals use geomagnetic navigation, including whales. The humpback whale is capable of covering a distance of 2000 km without stopping, without straying more than 1 degree off course. In total, humpbacks travel about 6500 km during their migration. Yet, for reasons not fully understood, animal navigation sometimes malfunctions. It is most likely that some electromagnetic force is interfering with the proper operation of the whale's navigation system. For example, magnetic storms on the Sun, migratory birds... So in 2015, a flock of pink flamingos for some reason flew to Siberia. In addition, artificial sources of magnetic waves, such as radar and possibly even television and radio signals, can significantly affect the biocompass of marine animals. Perhaps this explains the fact that rescued whales are often washed up again in the same place almost immediately after being rescued.

These are the most scientifically supported reasons why whales are washed ashore. Fortunately, people no longer regard the defenseless sea giants on the coast as easy prey, as in past centuries, but, on the contrary, try to return the whales to the sea as soon as possible. And there is hope that in the future, when scientists find the answer to the question of why whales are washed ashore, people will be able to predict or even prevent further cases of mass death of whales.

Fig. 4 Surfer and a whale's tail.

Phenomena in nature are more tragic than the sight of a flock of whales lying helplessly on the shore. Massive dumping of whales on land occurs in all corners of our planet, but we do not know why. Scientists are still looking for answers that will reveal this mystery. There are many theories about why these intelligent animals end up in shallow water and then be washed ashore.

Some scientists have advanced theories that dolphins and whales do this because of illness or injury. When they swim close to the shore, they are trapped in shallow water and are thrown onto the shore by strong waves. And about the massiveness of such a phenomenon, scientists suggest that this is due to a high level of social development in flocks. If one of their pack is wounded or sick, he will not be abandoned, but will follow him everywhere, including to the dangerous shore.

Group blowouts are more common in whales than in dolphins. And among the whales on the shore, there are more often deep-sea species, such as sperm whales, than killer whales living closer to the shore.

Some observers have suggested a similar theory about whales that end up onshore as a result of hunting for prey near the shore, where treacherous coastal waves push the unfortunate animal ashore. But such a thought seems unlikely, since the stomachs of the dead whales were empty, and also some ended up in areas where there simply were not enough fish.

One of the most common theories about the causes of whales stranded is that something disrupts the navigation system of whales, which leads to disorientation in the vastness of the ocean, and then to death on the shore.

Scientists and researchers blame the US Navy for using low frequency receivers on warships. Signals coming from such devices are perceived by whales at a distance of hundreds of kilometers, in fact, for whales and dolphins, these signals are perceived as a very loud sound for humans. Which leads to the mass death of these animals.

Scientists, since 2000, have been trying to prove the guilt of the US Navy in the mass death of marine animals, but it is difficult to fight the Navy, and sometimes it is useless. For example, in 2000 in the Bahamas, the Navy conducted exercises using low-frequency sonars, after which four adult whales were on the shore. At first, the Navy denied any involvement in the incident, but scientists were able to prove their guilt. But in fact, nothing has changed, the exercises were carried out and are being carried out.

Sonars are also responsible for numerous injuries to marine animals, such as hemorrhages in the brain, ears and internal tissues and organs. Sonar has also been shown to cause decompression in whales during diving and ascent.

Other possible causes of disorientation in whales include:

Weather;

Underwater seismic activity;

Magnetic anomaly;

Unfamiliar underwater relief.

Despite many theories, there is more and more evidence of the military's guilt. As scientists continue to search for answers, "seafarers" continue to be washed ashore.

We have all seen on TV and on the Internet that dolphins and whales once throw their bodies on the shore and on the beach. You also observed that compassionate people try to help these animals by pouring water on their skins. And usually whales and dolphins are thrown ashore. By the way, jellyfish too. Is not it? And the last type of ejected animals from the ocean are molluscs.

Once, on a beach in Vladivostok, I watched millions of mollusks, called Mussels, washed ashore. Question; why only jellyfish, mussels, dolphins and whales have such a glitch? Why aren't other sea animals and molluscs thrown out of the ocean? Why did I only see mussels on the beach, and not Scallops or Trepangi? Why was there a discharge of mussels and not scallops? Why were whales and dolphins washed ashore? Why not sharks?

Have you ever seen in the news or in kind that in the coastal cities in the bays 500 sharks washed ashore? Not a single shark washed its body ashore, but dolphins and whales are regularly thrown away. These are creatures that breathe with lungs. They have no gills. But what about jellyfish and mussels? You walk along the seashore and even collect tons of them for meat and canned food, which is what local inhabitants from coastal cities do. Have you ever seen 500 sharks escaped on the seashore or, like a million scallops? Never. And dolphins and whales are like they have a trap. They do it regularly. And also jellyfish and mussels en masse. Now, these four types of marine life are constantly washed up on the beach.

Scientists shout, like, these are solar flares, which means, they say, the magnetic field of the direction is changing, such as north-south. However, a normal dolphin is better than a dog and is equal to a human in its brain. The dolphin has eyes. Dolphin, when swimming, evaluates the situation. The dolphin clearly sees the coast and land with his own eyes. And the dolphin is far from being a fool. Or a whale. But why are dolphins and whales being washed ashore?

Where have you seen tons of saury or pollock on the shore? Scientists say that the tide is to blame and the flock got into shallow water. I don’t believe it. Otherwise, all sea creatures would have been lying on the shore for a long time. Changing the magnetic field of the Moon and Earth? It is quite possible, but not a fact. People, in large numbers, do not rush to throw themselves off bridges and drown in the sea, at high tide, and even on the full moon. Why is it that only a certain species of marine animals of four types are washed ashore?

Of course - you can laugh and say that all land creatures came out of the ocean and out of the water. Including the person. Therefore, like, whales, dolphins, jellyfish and mussels also decided to go out of the ocean and humanize. The hypothesis is a glitch question, why are they drawn to the shore and to land? Compass doesn't work for dolphins? And where are their eyes? When they swim to the shore, and after bulging the balls, they climb onto the sand - what do they think at the same time?

Sharks also have eyes and brains. They do not meddle in this matter. Sharks swim right on the sand even, and swim away calmly back into the sea, while grabbing a stupid, open-skinned seal on the beach. Sharks can even pop out on the sand of the beach. And any fish can do it. And then jump back into the sea freely. Is not it? Like a dog or a tiger. But then, why, whales and dolphins that have jumped ashore do not agree to go back to the ocean on their own with the help of fins? Any fish is smart, and especially during spawning in shallow water.

The answer is simple. Poor water-environment composition. When you have a fire in your apartment, where do you go first of all? That's right - outward. Into the fresh air. Breathe. When acid surrounds you and your skin tingles, where will it carry you? That's right - anywhere, but only away from the acid and alkali, which must be disposed of.

As a novice biochemist, I demand that international organizations check in every region where shellfish and fish are released for the content of harmful elements in the habitat of sea creatures. The man is hardy, he can breathe mercury vapor and wash with acid and alkali, but some marine inhabitants do not agree with this.