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Volunteers and animal welfare workers attempt to rescue a large number of pilot whales beached near St Andrews in Scotland, Sunday.
Ten pilot whales were rescued and refloated Monday after they became stranded on a Scottish beach, according to reports.
The 20-foot whales were kept alive by vets and led out to deeper waters but 16 others could not be saved and died on the beach in Fife, on the east coast just south of St Andrews, Fife, The Scotsman newspaper reported.
It said volunteers joined the local coastguard, Fire Brigade, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, animal welfare charities and local vets during the rescue attempt.
21 whales beach selves in Florida, at least two die
Coastguard officials were alerted to the beaching, between Anstruther and Pittenweem, at 7 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) on Sunday, the BBC reported. It said three of the whales that died were calves.
David Galloway, a fish filleter from Anstruther, told The Scotsman: “I went down to the beach at about 12 p.m. and I could see all the whales. It was horrible. I have never seen anything like it in my life.
“We were told we couldn’t go down on to the beach, but we could see rescuers beside the whales, they were trying to take care of them, trying to keep them moist. They were waiting for the tide to come in. It was just horrible.”
A coastguard spokeswoman said: “It is a very rare occurrence in Scotland and very sad.
“The usual scenario would be that the whale that is leading the group has become ill, or has lost its way, and gets beached and the rest will follow on. Although we do not know for sure if that is what has happened.”
The poor beached whales anstruther. So sad 🐳 twitter.com/amalloy_/statu…
— Alison Malloy (@amalloy_) September 2, 2012
Witnesses posted pictures of the rescue scene via social media, including Twitter.
It came after 21 short-finned pilot whales beached themselves along Florida's Atlantic coast on Saturday, leaving at least two whales dead.
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Leave a Comment:
something is wrong world wide -- tons of earth quakes, vibes for me as just way off.
The U.S. Navy conducts secret operations with sonar, and it is terrifying the whales, disrupting their communication with each other, and actually making the inside of their heads bleed. I think these whales were trying to get away from the pain. The Navy doesn't give a damn.
I agree- it's the Navy.
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And your supporting evidence is what exactly? Do you have anything to support this that is not on a conspiracy or crypto-biology website?
You do realize that there have been a number of studies done to debunk you nonsense about this being caused by Navy sonar. Numerous tests have been done of southern CA to show that the Navy sonar does not harm whales. Even at that, out of extreme caution, the Navy will keep sonar units in standby mode if they are near a pod of whales or other marine mammals that use sonar. Despite numerous attempts to prove otherwise, there is no evidence that Navy sonar has any effect on whales or other marine mammals.
That is not true. Did those numerous studie come from the Navy? Noaa actually did studies that show that not only does it scare whales and other marine life, but actually destroys tissue, causing death.
And, it's only the U.S. Navy that uses sonar? I mean seriously!
Um try listening to an old sonarman, It's called being in passive mode and not active mode (not standby JS). And yes there is evidence that active sonar disrupts whale navigation as far back as the 1970's. As a matter of fact divers in the water in a US base requires that all sonar systems including something as small as fathometers be tagged out and shut down. Otherwise it would fry the divers. Please research before you spout incorrect information.
The general consensus is that interruption in ambient sound in the oceanic 'atmosphere' is disrupting marine mammals' echolocation and sonar, disrupting their sense of direction. Whales have very poor eyesight, they rely on sonar and echolocation to orient themselves in the vastness of the ocean. Also to note is that according to geologists, the Earth may be in the process of changing it's magnetic poles, and that could also be having an effect.
I believe the general opinion is that while whales are intelligent, they are not really sentient--self-aware. Sentience is required to make a conscious decision to 'commit suicide', and there is little evidence that they are capable of doing so. If they were indeed sentient, when a whaling boat came after them they would turn on it in 'anger' and destroy it--or they would avoid going to areas where whaling takes place. But they follow the same migratory patterns each year irregardless of what else is happing in the same waters, so that argues for instinct, not sentience.
Note, however, that the question of dolphin sentience is for me a very gray area--there are few mass dolphin beachings of the same rate/frequency of whales; dolphins have been known to spontaneously assist injured swimmers, even attacking sharks who were actively targeting injured humans; wild dolphins have also been known to engage in cooperative behavior with tribal fisherman on tropical islands, chasing fish into fisherman's nets (and are then rewarded with several fish out of the catch.) Also, with the advent of the realization that dolphins can be trapped in tuna fishing nets, those nets have now been engineered to be able to open on one side so that the dolphins can be set free and fish be kept. This seems to have been taught between dolphins; a great portion of the time now when dolphins are caught in a tuna net, instead of panicking they will simply wait at one end until the net opens, then swim out. Even the babies who may have never seen a net before will wait quietly for the net to open.
This argues for a certain amount of learned behavior and I believe that dolphins may be on the verge of evolving sentience, if they haven't already. I don't think the whales are there...yet.
B.S. It's unfortunate that you believe their lies. The Navy (military in general) thinks they are responsible to no one and has never practiced "extreme caution" in anything unless it is in their own interests - wildlife, be damned.
yes the navy sonar does harm and kill marine mammals as do other nations navys. gas and oil exploration is also harming marine animals with their constant seismic blasting. is there any oil or gas exploration going on in the vicinity where the whales beached??
Thanks to all the rescuers who worked to save as many as they could. Thanks to the volunteers who stepped out of their comfortable lives and put in effort to try and save them. Thanks to everyone who saw these whales as lives that needed to be saved.
While the whales can't thank you, I sure can on their behalf!!!
And thank you, Amanda, for expressing our appreciation so well.
Some people step out of their comfortable lives without hesitation. Others never will.
They are very lucky whales that they beached up in Scotland..now if they beached up in Japan..they be in a Sushi Bar by now!
All of this is man's doings they want to get of their home because it is hard to live under those circumstances and they running to land where they can't survive.
Man has the nerve to pretend they care when in fact we are the causes for their deaths and continue to do the same thing over and over again for them to run away.
It makes me vomit to see these beautiful animals suffer because of man and what we are doing to them.
It has been written He will bring to ruin those ruining the earth.
Carol, it is unfair of you to group all of mankind together that way. We are individuals and some of us do care. To say that "man has the nerve to pretend to care" is not right. Are you including yourself in that callous judgment? Some humans may be destroying their habitat but others truly do care about the whales and worked hard to save as many as they could. Kudos to all those who helped!!
Actually Carrol, it was because Sun Myung Moon has passed. Please see a doctor about the vomiting.
carol i would see someone about the vomiting you can dehydrate yourself and become very ill and as a non caring man that would trouble me
Carol, can we attribute your disjointed and incomprehensible sentences to the vomiting attacks? Or is it because you actually did see a whale "running to land".
Typically, when someone says "man" in the sense Carol did, it's meant as a species, not individuals. Cut Carol some slack - gesh.
Naah. I don't think so. Carol needs to take a few deep breaths into a brown paper bag, lay off the vomiting and accept the challenge to clearly articulate one or two rationally thought-out viewpoints. No more histrionics and dry-humping the nature channel.
carol, you might want to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beached_whale
as you'll see in that article, whales have beached themselves throughout human history. so maybe you can stop vomiting.
zing!
I was going to post asking a question if whales had a long history of beaching themselves. Well I saw your comment and so now I don't have to ask.
If they beach themselves purposely are we really "helping" them when helping them? Is it known why they do this? I don't condemn the efforts at all but when you think about it this is a choice that they had made as an entire pod, intentionally, knowing very well the outcome. Maybe not the calves, I dunno. Just food for thought.
Whale beaching is not new. Aren't whales supposed to be so highly intelligent? You always hear that they are as smart as humans. If they are so flipping smart, why do they beach themselves? If they get hit by boats...well, boats may not be "natural", but the beach has been there for quite a while, and it doesn't move much. I've had many dogs that are substantially smarter than this, and even they will dart out in front of a car if you don't restrain them.
My theory is that whales are approximately as smart as cattle and other vegetarians. You never see a killer whale beached.
@steve the dog man...I think maybe your logic is flawed here...humans get lost...lose their way...mistime their travels...and die as a result all the time. The Donner party...that soccer team that crashed in the Andes...it was an accident...and there were extenuating circumstances...but it wasn't SUPPOSED to happen...the family that left a thanksgiving meal at relatives house...took the wrong turn in a snow storm...and the father dies trying to walk to get help...the flight of navy planes in the '40's and the flight that was sent to find out what happened to them...both disappeared forever...Amelia Earhardt...it happens all the time...to humans...we don't know why whales sometimes beach themselves...but I don't think that "stupidity" is the reason...
all the examples you list mean being far from safety and with extenuating circumstances. The whales simply need to think "oh, the water's too shallow here" and turn around. I don't think there is a blizzard, instrument malfunction or other BS to explain this. If you swim for a living and bump into something...back the hell off. The beach didn't rush them, it wasn't a moving target.
Really? Amelia Earhardt? That's your comparison? How about you are walking on the sidewalk and there is a piano sitting there...and you walk straight into it, and keep walking straight into it instead of walking around it? That's what this is.
Steve - you obviously know nothing about marine mammals. No one in their right mind has ever seriously said whales are as smart as people so stop comparing them to people. These whales are, by nature, social. They have a leader. They will follow the leader many times to their deaths. That doesn't make them stupid or less than intelligent.
And for you (limited) information, whales and dolphins do know when water's shallow. Dolphins hydroplane in water inchsed deep to catch fish. This is a LEARNED (see TAUGHT) behaviour that takes years to learn and master. Therefore, they are intelligent.
Please educate yourself on the (likely) manner matters you know little to nothing about before comdenming a race of living creatures to your very limited understanding of our world.
And please don't reproduce. There are enough idiots in this world as it is.
Yup, you're a genius, and whales aren't. Wow! I'm impressed by your knowledge. So...dolphins LEARN to be dolphins. Amazing. I'm sure your reading disability prevented you from noticing I was comparing whales (unfavorably) to Dogs, not humans. You brought up Dolphins, I didn't discuss them. So... If we are still discussing Whales...I still don't see them as mammal-level bright. You still can't explain beaching as a function of an intelligent being.
Dolphins seem more intelligent than whales. The military uses them for various complicated tasks that do NOT come natural to dolphins. Whales....nope. No special talent.
Whale: Screw the world. My home is a toxic dump, my food is poisoned, I don't want to live anymore. I am beaching myself.
Human: Don't worry whale I will save you. Soon we'll have you back in your lovely, clean, marine environment.
Whale: **** you human.
In addition to these reported beachings, a large pod of dolphins also beached on Thumper Beach in Eastham on Cape Cod on Saturday. Interesting to see three different points..Massachusetts, Florida and Scotland. I wonder if the Navy was doing underwater sonic blasting in the Atlantic and continbuted to this?
It took two days, but "Blue Moon Fever," got 'em.
Well this is a least a bit of good news, that some of the whales were saved.
I wonder how whales regard humans, who sometimes hunt them, and at other times save them from harm.
Well' this may put an end to *The View*.
Hats off to those who took part in saving these beautiful whales! The Japanese are particulary thankful. They know where to go to score a bunch of pilot whales with their factory ships!
Is anyone here a marine biologist?
Call George Kastanza!
Obviously, they are just SPEEDING UP THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS and trying to walk out of the ocean.
At least that's what they teach in the schools today. May God help our ignorance!
WAKE UP AMERICA
and what has evolution taught? We can be confident that God will help in his due time and this is what indepence
from God has brought us. He is the creator and He knows why those whales are beaching themselves. He knows
all things that are going on and how to fix them or restore it.
Why o why do whales always beach themselves like that? I don't think scientists even know the reasoning behind it, but I surmise that they sense something in the water and want to get out of its way. Or it's a form of mass suicide.
get them to the freezers quick, the japanese and other asians will pay a good price for them?? may stop the food shortage in africa??? lots of protein ! ! ! !
Has it ever dawned to anybody that whales do this for a reason and we assume we know better. Nature has a way to take care of it self. Let nature run its course. We are so sure that we (humans) will destroy this planet. I have news for you, this planet will be here long after we are gone.
Good thinking Nobdywins. My thoughts as well. And what does that say for evolutionists? Thought things got smarter as the evolved. Apparently not.
Sometimes they do not get "smarter", sometimes they die off.
"Humans" assume to know everything about all life forms on the planet and intercede where and when it may not be required. It appears to me that like the species called elephants, whales may know when they are going to "pass," for what ever the reason may be, and head to an area to complete the task to be left alone to die peacefully. I can fully appreciate the attempts of the well intended citizens, rescuers, and animal doctors, but perhaps there is a reason unbeknownst to man why this phenomena occurs. Man could be disturbing a natural cycle of life for these whales. Are there conclusive studies obtained from autopsies of these creatures that would indicate that "man" should interfere with their existence and subsequent passing? They may not want to be resuscitated, as it were, by human hands. Just a thought.
and you are one of those that are assuming .
Just my theory,
something is going on under the ocean floor and it is being felt all over the world. we are in for something catastrophic. these are warnings.
remember you read it here.
Something is going on in your head and it is being felt all throughout this thread.
Has anyone ever thought it might just be some dumb whales? My theory.
These are majestic creatures and thank you to the good people who tried to save them.
I do understand we humans cannot know everything about other species...it is clear...this many would NOT be seeking death unless they were seriously ill. Like...um...pollution? Or noise, which, one should know affects these mammals more than others. If you do not know...research before responding...please research first. These mammals have hearing a LOT more beyond our scope of hearing. It may be time for all of us to examine our own selfish behavior in regards to the world's wildlife.
It may be the navy, playing with new versions of nazi screech machines that the navy uses to deafen somali pirates, but my idea is the damnitman oil companies are using dynamite blasts and sonar microphones , just like they use in the mountains, to look for oil, and the cracks in the ground leading to the pools. I drove a 25 ton vibrator for a geophysical co. in the rockies back in the early 80s, and wherever our hillclimbers couldnt go, the helicopter crews took over and used dynamite to "ping" the earth to depths of at least 50 thousand feet.
BIG OIL and/or THE NAVY are killing marine mammals as fast as they can reload, around the earth, and nobody can stop them ever, because they are Oz behind the curtain....dirty dirty dirty dudes
I bet you had to beat the women off that truck with a baseball bat. How did you get any work done?
The whales: get these damn parasites away - please let me die in peace!
Another issue would be to do a necropsy on the whales. I would like to know what is in the contents of the gastrointestinal tracts. From plastics to toxic fish/plankton... from oil spills to radiation. I would like to know.