abomb&thecorpse: January 2013

Monday, January 14, 2013

Hell in a Handbasket | The Beachings

There is a disturbing trend that I've been noting, for which I have no explanation. Sometimes, animals that live in the oceans end up beaching themselves, running themselves up onto land, sometimes in massive numbers.

Sometimes it is a lone animal, as was reported Wednesday, December 26, 2012 when an endangered finback whale was found washed ashore on the bay side of Rockaways, Queens, New York. [cbc] In these cases, I am content to believe the animal is sick or somehow already close to death.

I stopped following these cases for a while. There were too many, it seemed. The last time I made special note of such an occurance was in January, 2011, when "large numbers of dead herring washed ashore" on a Vancouver Island beach. It had both fishery officials and local fishermen looking for answers. (Unfortunately, the Vancouver Sun has an absolutely terrible online archival system and the story is no longer accessible.)

I noted a story on November 7, 2010, about 35 whales that beached and died off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland, on Rutland Island near Burtonport. (The BBC has a much better archival system: the story can be found here: [bbc]) The article notes that 60 whales died off the "west coast of Kerry" in the 1960s and "35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001."

On September 22, 2010, I noted at least 40 out of 80 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a remote northern New Zealand beach (Spirit Bay beach) had died, with officials saying more whales were joining them on land. [cbc] The article notes this was the second mass beaching in the region in a month, when in mid-August 58 pilot whales were stranded at nearby Karikari Beach. (Which I also noted: [bbc]) The September article also notes 101 pilot whales were stranded on the same beach in 2007, and that since 1840, the Department of Conservation has recorded more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins around the New Zealand coast. "New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of whale strandings, mainly during their migrations to and from Antarctic waters, one of which begins around September." Despite this, the article clearly states scientists have not been able to determine why whales become stranded.

On July 20, 2010, scientists were still trying to figure out why about 500 penguins washed up dead in the previous 10 days on Peruibe, Praia Grande and Itanhaem beaches of Sao Paulo state in Brazil. [bbc] Starvation (perhaps by overfishing or cold temperatures driving foodsources away) was a possibility, as autopsies revealed their stomachs were completely empty, though strong currents and/or colder-than-normal temperatures were also considered. The article noted in an average year about 100 to 150 penguins normally show up on the beaches (they get lost while migrating), with only about 10 of those dead. [cbc]

On May 11, 2010, marine biologists were trying to figure out why eight harbour porpoises washed ashore near Victoria, BC, Canada, in the previous week. While not unusual for harbour porpoises to wash ashore, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it was "strange to see so many." [cbc] The article states the animals were healthy, and suggested death was caused by the stress of being hunted by killer whales. It further noted the body of a newborn killer whale washed up near Victoria the previous week.

On Monday December 28, 2009 I noted an article about 125 pilot whales that died on Colville Beach on the New Zealand's North Island Coromandel peninsula, with rescue working managing to coax 43 others back out to sea. [cbc] Meanwhile on South Island, the article goes on, 105 stranded long-finned pilot whales died the previous Saturday.

On Friday October 9, 2009 an article mentions two great batches of Humboldt squid washed ashore, one in August then another in September, near the town of Tofino on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. [cbc] John Payne, a marine biologist with the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project (POST), said the events show that oceans are changing, and "I think we're going to see a lot more strandings."

I think this is the August event mentioned above, though I can't confirm it is the same or a different event, as it's from this terrible Vancouver Sun collection. On August 8, 2009 I noted an article with the synopsis: "Thousands of dead fish and squid have washed up on beaches in and near Pacific Rim National Park in the past week, Tofino-based biologist Josie Osborne said Friday. It was not immediately known what caused their deaths."

Though I do also have an article from Thursday August 6, 2009 that indicates the above-mentioned event is in fact seperate... the article begins "Just days after decomposing squid washed up on the beaches near Tofino, BC, hundreds of dead pilchard and herring came in with the high tide along the same beaches." [ctv]

On Saturday May 30, 2009 I noted 34 pilot whales were euthanized on Kommetjie Beach near Cape Town, South Africa, with rescuers managing to push 20 whales back into the water. [cbc]

On April 17, 2009 I noted an article from National Geographic where the synopsis states: "In the same Chilean town where 1,500 penguins had washed up a week-and-a-half ago, thousands of dead sardines mysteriously turned up on beaches. (The link also goes into a bummer-can't-find-this non-archive at National Geographic, which I am now very disappointed in as well. Vancouver Sun, New York Times, and National Geographic: I am going to stop following you.)

And that ends the events I have tracked, and I am quite certain to have missed some, probably several. I'll end with this: In February 2009 the CBC put together "FAQs: Whale and dolphin strandings and beachings."