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Concept
Cetacean stranding
Summary
Cetacean stranding, commonly known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole. Cetacean stranding has occurred since before recorded history.
Several explanations for why cetaceans strand themselves have been proposed, including changes in water temperatures, peculiarities of whales' echolocation in certain surroundings, and geomagnetic disturbances, but none have so far been universally accepted as a definitive reason for the behavior. However, a link between the mass beaching of beaked whales and use of mid-frequency active sonar has been found.
Whales that die due to stranding can subsequently decay and bloat to the point where they can explode, causing gas and their internal organs to fly out.
List of sperm whale strandings
Every year, up to 2,000 animals beach themselves. Although the majority of strandings result in death, they pose no threat to any species as a whole. Only about ten cetacean species frequently display mass beachings, with ten more rarely doing so.
All frequently-involved species are toothed whales (Odontoceti), rather than baleen whales (Mysticeti). These species share some characteristics which may explain why they beach.
Body size does not normally affect the frequency, but both the animals' normal habitat and social organization do appear to influence their chances of coming ashore in large numbers. Odontocetes that normally inhabit deep waters and live in large, tightly knit groups are the most susceptible. This includes the sperm whale, oceanic dolphins, usually pilot and killer whales, and a few beaked whale species. The most common species to strand in the United Kingdom is the harbour porpoise; the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is second-most common, and after that long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas).
Solitary species naturally do not strand en masse.
Official source
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Related publications (1)