55 whales may have died in a mass stranding because they refused to leave the side of an injured female
Mairi Robertson Carrey / via Reuters
- An entire pod of 55 pilot whales died on Sunday after a mass stranding on a beach in Scotland.
- The pod may have washed up on the beach because they wanted to help an injured female.
- The female was experiencing problems while giving birth, a UK charity said.
Dozens of healthy whales may have died on a beach in Scotland because they refused to leave the side of an injured female, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) charity said in a press release.
An entire pod of 55 pilot whales died on Sunday morning after a mass stranding on a remote beach in Western Isles, Scotland, police said.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said it suspects the whales all washed up on the beach to help a female who had suffered complications while giving birth.
"One of the dead whales appeared to have had a vaginal prolapse — so it's currently suspected that the whole pod stranded due to one female giving birth," the release said.
"Pilot whales are notorious for their strong social bonds, so often when one whale gets into difficulty and strands, the rest follow," it added.
Most of the whales died shortly after washing up in low-tide waters, although 15 of them were still breathing when rescue teams arrived on the beach. The teams attempted to refloat some of the whales but were unsuccessful, and eventually decided to euthanize them on welfare grounds.
The incident is the "largest fatal mass stranding event we've had in Scotland for decades," the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme said on Twitter on Sunday.
The organization is now investigating what could have happened to the pod. Autopsies are also underway.
But more evidence must be connected before experts can reach a full conclusion, The Washington Post reported.
Other theories that could have contributed to their deaths include the pod falling sick after human interference, or getting lost due to navigational errors, according to The Post.
Pilot whales usually live in pods containing seven to 15 individuals, but that can range up to hundreds when they gather in groups.
They have strong emotional bonds with their pods, and are therefore more susceptible to mass strandings, The Guadian reported.