An event in which a large number of marine animals, most often whales or dolphins, become stranded together on a beach or in shallow water, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. Proposed causes include disorientation from underwater noise pollution, illness affecting a pod's navigational sense, following a sick or injured leader onto shore, and unusual coastal topography that confuses the echolocation species such as pilot whales rely on.
Facts
Partially Attested
ScaleThe largest reported pilot whale mass stranding, at the Chatham Islands, New Zealand in 1918, is said to have killed up to or over 1,000 pilot whales, though the source itself notes details or evidence for the event are minimal. 1 The source's own strandings table flags that although this 1918 event is commonly reported, details or evidence for it are minimal. First DescribedOne of the earliest well-documented mass strandings is a 1902 event involving pilot whales on the shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 1 Source presents this as an early photographed and documented case, not necessarily the first stranding ever to occur; it also notes archaeological evidence of humans salvaging from stranded sperm whales in southern Spain roughly 14,000 years ago, in the Upper Magdalenian era. Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceWhales, dolphins and porpoises ground themselves on land, usually on a beach, and often die from dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, or drowning if not returned to the water in time. 1 PeriodicityWhale, dolphin and porpoise strandings occur worldwide every year, with up to 2,000 animals beaching themselves annually. 1 Connections
Associated With
Certain red tide events release biotoxins, such as domoic acid or brevetoxin, that are a documented direct cause of mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds that ingest contaminated prey.
Sources
1. Cetacean stranding - Wikipedia
Species section
Every year, up to 2,000 animals beach themselves.
Large strandings section, Chatham Islands New Zealand 1918 table entry
Largest reported pilot whale stranding, with up to or over 1000 pilot whales dying in a single stranding. Although commonly reported, details or evidence for the event are minimal.
lead section, image caption for the 1902 Cape Cod photograph
A mass stranding of pilot whales on the shore of Cape Cod, 1902.
lead section, paragraph describing how beached whales die
Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, or drowning.
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