Dolphins & whales stranded on Western Australia's coast

Dolphins & whales stranded on Western Australia's coast

www.theaustralian.news.com.au

TOURISTS, locals and environmental officers are trying to save up to 25 false killer whales stranded in a group of 80 dolphins and and whales at Hamelin Bay, on Western Australia's south coast.

“I've never seen this sort of thing happen in real life. I've only seen it with photos, but I went down on the beach and had a look myself and ... just held back the tears,” Ms Carlon told AAP.

“Everyone's down there, they've got the police ... (the Department of Environment and Conservation's) down there ... they've cut off the road from letting people drive in.”

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
194 Pilot Whales with Dolphins Beached in Australia - Big Earthquake to Happen?

So not long ago were the beaching of whales and dolphins on Tasmania's coast and then the earthquakes that shook Melbourne as well as the undersea volcano near Tonga. Now there are beachings across Western Australia. Are we to see more earthquakes in the coming days?

Additional reading:
Australia to put Reactor on fault line
www.buzzle.com...

Seismicity in Australia
www.seismicity.see.uwa.edu.au...


www.theaustralian.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm sorry to say that the theory about an earthquake happening after a whale beaching is wrong.

www.thewest.com.au...

In 2005 more than 1000 volunteers rescued 100 false killer whales in nearby Geographe Bay, Busselton.

In 1986, 57 false killer whales beached themselves near the mouth of the Blackwood River at Augusta. Only 30 survived.

Wildlife experts have said previously that false killer whales were notorious for their suicidal behaviour. The species is described as fast, acrobatic swimmers. They are members of the toothed whale family Delphinidae, the dolphin family, and grow up to 3.8m in length.
Since 1984 there have been 21 mass strandings of whales and dolphins along the WA coast.

As a local to the area I can tell you there has never been a tremor of note in the region for a very long time.

The last large one to be recorded in the area was October 3rd 1959 which was a magnitude 5.0.

There was also a magnitude 5.7 near Yallingup in 1946.

www.seismicity.see.uwa.edu.au...


I've placed Busselton and Hamelin Bay on the map for a reference:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b7dc52f0e674.png[/atsimg]

If this theory is true, then my house is going to be shaking in a few days, so we'll see.

If it doesn't shake, I'm sorry to say but it will be bunk.



On a more encouraging note though, is the amount of volunteers coming to help, so much so that a lot have had to be turned away.




[edit on 23-3-2009 by Chadwickus]

reply to post by JRSB


My thoughts are probably yes. The link between the two is compelling. It may have something to do with the underwater volcano's too. Perhaps they give off frequencies or vibrations that completely baffle sea mammals radars?

There was a small quake in WA the same day as the first one in Vic. Everything's connected. I'm compiling a thread on Krakatoa atm which I will post soon. This caldera may be due to blow in the very near future. The Aus plate is moving and is the cause of most of this IMHO. It certainly caused the Tsunami in 04.

IRM

Yeah
I am with JRSB on this one.
I remember that post and the earthquake that followed.
I guess we will wait and see.

I don't remember exactly how long after the earthquake hit.
What was it it? 1 or 2 days

reply to post by foremanator



It was 5 days I believe.


Time will tell won't it...

I might check my home insurance policy, see if it covers earthquakes

We've already been shock by two Earthquakes of almost the same magnitutde within weeks, when previously we hadn't had any like that for 36 years.
I think if another was to happen soon it would freak more people out and start to wonder why we keep getting these quakes.

Quick update:
There is only about 15 left alive, they're going to wait the night out then truck them further south to release them into calmer waters.

reply to post by JRSB


Expect to see a major eruption or earthquake within 24-48 hrs of this beaching. I doubt that the Redoubt eruption tonight will qualify for this, most likely something in the southern seas.

I believe the increase in quakes and volcanic activity and magnitudes of these can most likely be attributed to rising seas, the pressure created on the ocean floor is tremendous, putting pressure on the fault lines.

Funny I heard absolutely nothing about this on the news today.

Don't whale groups beach themselves after one injured member typically can't swim properly and moves closer to shore to rest and they all end up stuck on the shore?

Isn't it part of their close-knit family bonds that they follow each other like that and respond to other whale in signs of trouble?

will have to keep an eye on this i think.

only heard the news on triple j.

Best guess would be an off shore quake, maybe around the 4 mark, but as I said, its only a guess and I have no evidence to back it up!!!!

Here on land I'm sure if you heard screaming in your ears non-stop all day you'd eventually attempt to go to drastic measures to end it.
If by using sonar, they can hear the tectonic plates shifting beneath the crust, they'd surely hear very loud irritating noises and would find a way to escape it - such as beaching themselves.

That's my theory anyway.

The stranding of whales and dolphins may also be caused by naval sonar activity:

Another theory that has gained credence is disturbance of echo-location, possibly by naval sonar. In 2005, after a report by the Department of Environment showed a possibility of stressed whales being further upset by noise, the Royal Australian Navy said that it would avoid operations in areas where whales were beaching.

A naval ship had been using sonar near where 145 whales and dolphins died at Mation Bay on Tasmania's east coast in October of that year.

In 2006, after the death of a bottlenose whale stranded for two days in the Thames, marine scientists blamed navy sonar and military explosions for disorienting the mammal.

www.timesonline.co.uk...

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by foremanator

 

It was 5 days I believe.


Time will tell won't it...

I might check my home insurance policy, see if it covers earthquakes

Yeah 4 days
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Well lets see what happens.

Just been researching the likely causes of the beached whales, scientists have proven that naval sonar can seriously harm whales and dolphins making their ears/head bleed. Australia recently (just over a week) assembled our navy in Sydney harbour (and 1 collins class submarine). The collins subs are stationed in Western Aust (Garden Island Base). After some quick calculations i reckon it would take about 7 days for the sub to reach Perth traveling at 10knots. This would put the sub in the area around the time of the beaching. The sonar harmed the sensitive navigation of the whales and dolphins causing them to beach ( strange that two diff species beached). The U.S courts have already ruled that the U.S navy has to reduce sonar around feeding, birthing grounds and migratory routes. Everybody makes a big fuss when the Japs kill a few by harpoon but when the western world is possibly killing 80 at a time using sonar nobody comes after them. We obviously need sonar for navigation but im sure they can find an alternative if they wanted to.

reply to post by yhtomit


Here's another theory as well:

Current research is aiming to verify a process known as sonar termination. It may be that sonar termination is the main cause of dysfunction of cetacean echolocation during a mass stranding of apparently healthy toothed cetaceans (odontoceti). Sonar termination occurs when a pod of cetaceans emits an echolocation signal toward a coast with a gently sloping shoreline and under certain meteorological conditions a reflection will not be detected. The reflection contains important information about the location and features of the shoreline. The lack of reflections received from the coast would appear to be a ‘deaf spot’ to the cetaceans, analogous to the human ‘blind spot’. The coast may appear as thick 'fog' to the pod of cetaceans and may induce a navigational error.

www.biophysics.uwa.edu.au...

A combination of both sonar and sonar termination would really mess them up.

Update:

www.thewest.com.au...

Whales rescued from yesterday’s mass stranding at Hamelin Bay are heading out to sea, raising hopes of hundreds of volunteers in the South-West who have been working against the clock to save the mammals. Six of the 11 surviving pilot whales has formed a pod and is heading into deeper water. Two others are in open waters, but there are still fears for three pilot whales, including a calf nicknamed Buddy, which haven’t joined the main pod and are still struggling.

reply to post by Chadwickus


You know,
I saw the news piece on ATS about whales beaching in tassy, meaning something along the lines of an earth quake approaching.
Personally, I scoffed said what a load of crap, and closed the thread.
not long after that, Melb got jolted.

Ill never for get that, i will never right anything off simply because I dont believe so any more.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


Problem is, there are way too many earthquakes and not many whale beachings.

Here's a list of recent earthquakes in the last week:

earthquake.usgs.gov...

It's a LOT

[edit on 24-3-2009 by Chadwickus]