Mass stranding of sei whales in Chile

[TheMightyOrca]

So this is certainly strange.

A few dozen sei whales beached along south Chilean coast | Miami Herald Miami Herald

Government says there are around 20, scientists say more than 30. This is the first time sei whales have been found stranded in Chile. Sei whales aren't usually found in large groups. Has a mass stranding ever been found for this species prior to this? What do you guys think could've caused this?

 

[Chlidonias]

that certainly is strange! I haven't heard of mass-strandings of sei whales before, but the photos definitely show that they are all in the same locality - as opposed to being individual whales which are scattered along a great length of coastline.

 

[TheMightyOrca]

that certainly is strange! I haven't heard of mass-strandings of sei whales before, but the photos definitely show that they are all in the same locality - as opposed to being individual whales which are scattered along a great length of coastline.

It's very weird. I hope they can figure out what caused it. I'm rather stumped. What would cause sei whales to strand in such a big group? Maybe they were all together when feeding, that's usually the only time you see large groups. Hm...

 

[The Vegan]

I don't find such an occurrence too unexpected. Noise pollution in the ocean is horrendous and only increasing. I expect that these unfortunate whales were damaged by oil-prospecting guns or (more likely) LFA sonar. The most recent US Navy reports claimed that thousands of cetaceans would be severely injured or killed as a result of their radar activities...

As for the concentration of Sei Whales: Sei Whales will occasionally "swarm" in productive waters to feed. Chile has very productive fisheries, although it is fall there and resources are likely to be lower than at others times of the year. New England waters are currently experiencing such an influx of Seis, and I hope to see them on a whale watch soon!

 

[TheMightyOrca]

I don't find such an occurrence too unexpected. Noise pollution in the ocean is horrendous and only increasing. I expect that these unfortunate whales were damaged by oil-prospecting guns or (more likely) LFA sonar. The most recent US Navy reports claimed that thousands of cetaceans would be severely injured or killed as a result of their radar activities...

As for the concentration of Sei Whales: Sei Whales will occasionally "swarm" in productive waters to feed. Chile has very productive fisheries, although it is fall there and resources are likely to be lower than at others times of the year. New England waters are currently experiencing such an influx of Seis, and I hope to see them on a whale watch soon!

I figured that's the most likely scenario, that they were all gathered to feed and then something, possibly noise related, happened and caused them to strand. Poor whales.

Good luck on your whale watch. I've always wanted to go whale watching, unfortunately, Texas isn't much for that outside of bottlenose dolphins. Gulf of Mexico has plenty of cetacean species, but most stay out in the deeper water, mocking me.