Beached whale.

[Globalti]

Was watching one of those rescue programmes last night and there was a bit about a bottle nosed whale that beached itself. Huge efforts were made to refloat it but blood tests showed that it was actually dying. When the tide rose and it floated off, it just turned around and beached itself again.

People have always puzzled about whales that deliberately beach themselves but I had the thought last night that being air-breathing mammals perhaps they actually fear dying at sea and sinking to the bottom? Could this be the explanation that's so simple everybody has overlooked it?

 

[summerdays]

Was watching one of those rescue programmes last night and there was a bit about a bottle nosed whale that beached itself. Huge efforts were made to refloat it but blood tests showed that it was actually dying. When the tide rose and it floated off, it just turned around and beached itself again.

People have always puzzled about whales that deliberately beach themselves but I had the thought last night that being air-breathing mammals perhaps they actually fear dying at sea and sinking to the bottom? Could this be the explanation that's so simple everybody has overlooked it?

I saw a bit of it - before calling the children for tea and guessed the likely outcome.

As for your theory - I don't think that it is only elderly or unwell whales/dolphins that are found beached .... (not saying there couldn't be anything in your theory but that it would explain all the cases).

 

[ASC1951]

People have always puzzled about whales that deliberately beach themselves but I had the thought last night that being air-breathing mammals perhaps they actually fear dying at sea and sinking to the bottom? Could this be the explanation that's so simple everybody has overlooked it?

If it was, there would be dead cetaceans on every beach. In fact it is quite rare.

The usual explanation is that disease or injury damages their navigation system, which is just stating the obvious given that we don't have much idea how they do long distance navigation. Beaching is invariably the result of some trauma, so putting them back into deep water hardly ever works. But humans have such an affection for the creatures that we keep trying.

 

[ufkacbln]

There is also the (increasing?) number of mass beachings, where there is a mix of ages, genders and species


Various causes have been suggested fro freak weather to ship sonars disrupting the animal's own echo systems.

 

[numbnuts]

their satnavs go wrong

 

[buggi]

i saw that too. it made me sad

you might be right. who knows. i wouldn't want to drown and they are not stupid.

 

[Midnight]

They've reached the point in their evolution where they're trying to walk on land...

 

[ComedyPilot]

Just from the thread title, I thought this was going to be about the expensive waste of taxpayer's money nuclear submarine that went aground.

 

[Crackle]

Just from the thread title, I thought this was going to be about the expensive waste of taxpayer's money nuclear submarine that went aground.

Quite an Astute observation.

 

[ufkacbln]

Actually I believe this was a revenge attack with whales confusing the submarine's sonar and causing it to beach!

 

[ColinJ]

Quite an Astute observation.

In contrast to that of the boat's captain!

 

[Maz]

Just from the thread title, I thought this was going to be about the expensive waste of taxpayer's money nuclear submarine that went aground.

I thought it was about this:

 

[Crankarm]

Just from the thread title, I thought this was going to be about the expensive waste of taxpayer's money nuclear submarine that went aground.

+1.