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The article details the investigation conducted by Rob Deaville of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) of a dead fin whale washed up on the shore of of Red Rock Beach in Devon, England in September 2016. Topics discussed include the starvation of the whale, Deaville's discovery of cuts and abrasions along the whale's tail, and the conclusion that the injuries limited the whale's movement and prevented it from diving and feeding properly. more...

The article discusses the authors experiences as she witnessed the death of a humpback whale focusing on whale physiology, reasons that caused the beaching of whales, and decline in the whale population in Western Australia's coastline. more...

The article reports on the death of sperm whales after beaching on the east coast of England in January 2016 in which examination of the stomach revealed few squid beaks eaten some time ago and stained green from bile. more...

The article discusses sound pollution's effect on mass strandings of, or the beaching of, North Atlantic right whales. Topics include the impact of noise from the oil and gas industry on whales, the U.S. Interior Department's report endorsing the environmental safety of seismic surveys, and details on how right whales are the most endangered whale species in the world. more...

The article focuses on the significance and applications of green technologies in navies. It mentions that the fishery protection of the Royal Navy (RN) which is being performed by ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron (FPS) protects over tens of thousands of kilometers of water. However , it states that the application of naval sonar can cause whales and dolphins to beach themselves, in which it says that the impact of the use of naval sonar has triggered various court cases in the U.S. more...

The article discusses the rescue operation for 70 pilot whales stranded on the beach in Spirits Bay on the northern tip of New Zealand in September 2010. The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) sought the help of volunteers. The DOC decided to euthanize the weakest and most stressed animals to focus on those strong enough to survive. When only 24 whales remained alive, the DOC decided to transport them by land to the Rarawa Beach as it is sheltered from the northwestern wind. INSETS: DEATH ON THE SAND;NO DEFINITIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR MASS WHALE STRANDINGS. more...

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience being accompanied with a gray whale while kayaking in False Egg Island, north of Smith Sound is presented.

Excerpts from articles appearing in the June issue of "Scientific American" 50, 100, and 150 years ago are presented, including a 1962 article on superconducting magnets, a 1912 article on hydraulic shock absorbers, and a 1862 article on beached whales near the Isle of Shetland in Scotland. more...

Presents the short story 'Cucumber Is Crying.'

The article reports on stranding of more than 400 pilot whales which beached themselves on February 9, 2017 in New Zealand at Farewell Spit at the tip of South Island with about 300 reported to have died and 100 refloated and geographical reasons like stranding black spots cited as possible cause. more...

The article looks at the impact of human-caused noise on marine animals. It reports on the autopsy conducted on whales who died during a mass stranding episode in the Abacos Islands, Bahamas. Topics include the increase in ocean noise pollution from sources including naval sonar tests, ships, and wind farm construction and the hearing and behavioral responses to noise of various invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals. more...

The article provides an answer to a question of why whales beach themselves and whether or not whale strandings are increasing.

The article reports on an incidence in which 120 out of 150 small whales of the species Pseudorca crassidens died which came on to the beach near Fort Pierce, Florida.

The article discusses the increasing incidences of whale beaching and deaths. Topics discussed include factors affecting whale beaching such as increasing global temperatures, water pollution, oil spills and eutrophication, views of marine mammal biologist Trevor Spradlin on the effect of hunger or pollution, and mentions direct and indirect causes of this issue such as disruption of the underwater environment and red tides. more...

The article presents world news briefs as of December 10, 2018, including the death of magician and actor Ricky Jay, the election of Kristine Guillaume to lead the college newspaper "Harvard Crimson" and the death of pilot whales stranded on a beach in New Zealand. more...

The article presents an interview with Andrew Baxter, technical adviser at New Zealand's Department of Conservation, who discusses the annual Sea Week held from March 2-10, 2013; his interest in marine biology; and his views on stranding of whales on beaches, and how to stop whales from stranding. more...

The article discusses the International Whaling Commission and its release of a report in 2013 which claims that at least 75 melon-headed whales died after becoming stranded in the shallow waters of the Loza Lagoon system near the coast of Madagascar five years ago as a result of high frequency mapping sonar systems. According to the article, a survey vessel contracted by the ExxonMobil oil company used an echosounder system to map the ocean floor off the coast of Madagascar on May 29, 2008. more...

The article reports on a study conducted by a team of Mote and University of South Florida scientist regarding hearing loss that plays a role in why some of the animals strand. The method conducted in the study was hearing test of 36 dolphins and toothed whales. The study concluded that hearing tests should be conducted both before and after treatment and added that rehabilitation won't be successful if drug treatment cause high frequency hearing loss. more...

The article reports on the rescue efforts by the Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and other organizations to save whales stranded on lands. It reveals an incident wherein Claude Perreault, a fishery officer with the Metaghan DFO office, and Andrew Reid from Marine Animal Response Society used an equipment to help a stranded whale on Bartletts Beach in Nova Scotia. It states that in that incident Ed Rose, owner of Rose Valley Trucking and Excavating Ltd, was also involved. more...

The article reports that 81 short finned pilot whales were beached near a village in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, India. Topics discussed include efforts made to return them back to the sea via boats; whales that died and swam into the sea; rescue effort led by district collector M. Ravikumar; use of fishing boats for pulling them to the deeper part of the sea; and coastal pollution by industrial effluents as reason for whales deaths. more...

The article focuses on the mass whale stranding which is common in Australia and New Zealand. Topics discussed include the relation of the location of stranding with the coastal topography, the common species that were stranded, which include sperm whales, common dolphins, and pilot whales, and the shipping noises and military sonar frighten or distress whales which causes internal haemorrhaging or decompression sickness. more...

The article discusses the unveiling of a beached whale by conservator Shan Kuang to the 1641 painting "View of Scheveningen Sands" by Hendrick van Anthonissen in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. more...

This section offers science news briefs as of February 2014. Highway workers in Chile uncovered a trove of fossils in 2010 which are said to be the first definitive examples of ancient mass strandings of whales. Detailed new maps of oceans are said to indicate past pollution and continuing contamination with lead. A study has found the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus in camels from Sudan and Ethiopia which suggests that Africa also harbors the pathogen. more...

The article presents a podcast discussing the reasons that led to a mass stranding of whales, whether plants can talk and the origins of the Middle East respiratory syndrome.

The article reports on a trove of fossils uncovered by workers widening a remote stretch of highway near the northwestern coast of Chile which suggest ancient mass strandings of whales, as of February 2014. Nicholas Pyenson, a vertebrate paleontologist, said the area where the fossils were found has long been known locally as Cerro Ballena due to other remains found there years ago. more...

The article reports on a whale rescue operation that took place along the coast of California. The adult 40-ton, 40-foot gray whale nicknamed June was rescued from a fishing line by crab fisherman Captain Mark Anello and his two crew members, Pete Miller and Lynn McGowen. In about ninety minutes Anello and his crew rescued June using a 12-foot bamboo pole. more...

The article offers information on a failed rescue effort to save a stranded pygmy sperm whale in Shelburne harbor, Nova Scotia.

The article looks at possible causes for dolphins and whales that become stranded on beaches. Research on the subject suggests that most strandings are the result of hearing disorders that affect the echolocation of whales and dolphins. Sounds from oil tankers and military ships are suspected to damage the hearing of these animals, which rely on sonar to prevent themselves from swimming ashore. more...

The article reports on the debate over the cause of the mass whale-stranding in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii on July 3, 2004. A probe was formed in order to study such incident in which hundreds of melon-headed whales rushed into the shores of Hanalei, and was initially believed to have occurred due to a U.S. Naval sonar. A report on another group of whales stranding in another Pacific island Rota on the same date, however, has linked the behavior to lunar cycles. more...

The article presents a discussion on the issue of whale strandings. It states that more than 500 whales and dolphins became stranded on Tasmania's beaches from November 2008-March 2009. According to Rosemary Gales, head of the Department of Primary Industries and Water's (DPIW) Wildlife and Marine Conservation Section, Tasmania is not only in prime, food-rich, temperate waters for a lot of whales, but it also has a lot of natural "whale traps". more...

El artículo comenta brevemente sobre la influencia de los sonares militares antisubmarinos en la ecolocalización de las ballenas.

The article explores the career of Wayne Ledwell, head at Whale Release and Strandings, a new group funded by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DOF) in Newfoundland and Labrador. It relates that Ledwell has already released an average of 30 whales each year and has travelled hundreds of miles offshore to free an animal. Furthermore, it pertains that Ledwell has worked with mentor Jon Lien, former head of Whale Research Group, during the 1980s and 1990s. more...