In what is being considered the largest live stranding of whales in Ireland's history, six have died and another one is ¡®likely¡¯ to perish too.?
Seven northern bottlenose whales were spotted stranded on a beach in Rossnowlagh, County Donegal, on the north west coast of Ireland.?In a bid to help the stranded animals, conservationists rushed to the beach.?
But the groups could not do a lot for the six whales which grow to around 32ft in length and can weigh up to 16,530 lb (7,500 kg).?The six died on the beach. A seventh whale managed to swim away. However, experts believe that the chances of its survival are low.?
However, Sibeal Regan, from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), told Sky News that she was 'cautiously optimistic'.
Investigations to find out the cause of stranding are underway but according to Regan it is caused by 'acoustic trauma' often, usually from human activity.?¡°It's very sad, but it is some consolation to know that they are no longer suffering,¡± Sky News quoted her as saying.?
Talking about the chances of the one remaining whale she said, ¡°It's very bleak. Because northern bottlenose whales are deep-diving, the fact that they are in shallow coastal waters means that its chances of survival without the rest of its family are very low.¡±
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This incident comes after IWDG warned of a spike in animal strandings in the last year. In Ireland, there were 245 reported strandings involving 263 animals in the last year.?
Injuries of many suggested that they had been entangled in fishing nets.?
The group also said the deaths coincide with the arrival of giant fishing vessels, known as supertrawlers, which target fish close to the surface but far out to sea in Irish waters in Autumn.
According to scientists, certain types of sounds can cause some sea creatures to panic dive, and it puts others on alert. They spend more time on the lookout for predators, rather than carrying out their usual activities.
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Studies also show that dolphins change their tune, lower their frequency and reduce the variety in their song, in response to loud background noise.
Some whales stop singing at all, causing major communication issues for their pods.?
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