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Argentinian Beaches Dotted With At Least 30 Dead Whales Amid Mass Stranding

© Photo : PMSBFAA whale stranded on a beach in Argentina.
A whale stranded on a beach in Argentina. - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.10.2022
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Mass cetacean beaching remains a mystery to science, but every year hundreds of whales are found on beaches across the world dying from dehydration or collapsing under their own weight.
Argentina has reported a large number of whales stranded in Golfo Nuevo, with at least a dozen adult and juvenile sea mammals found dead in the area during past weeks.
According to the Southern Independent Whale Health Monitoring Program (PMSBFA), at least 30 whales beached this season.

“It should be noted that all the individuals found during the aerial survey are in an advanced state of decomposition, suggesting a date of death in a similar period of time and that many are in areas of difficult access. The scientific team of the program will examine the new individuals surveyed during the next few days to continue monitoring this unusual event of whale mortality in Valdes Peninsula,” Dr. Mariano Sironi, scientific director of the Whale Conservation Institute (ICB) and PMSBFA co-director, said.

According to scientists, the reason for their suicidal condition remains a mystery.

"No specimen presented evidence of abnormal injuries or recent traumatic injuries that could explain its death,” PMSBFA Field Coordinator Agustina Donini stated.

However, some scholars suggest that the deaths may be caused by the "red tide" phenomenon, caused by algal blooms.

"The whale is a great filter feeder, it eats that way, and, when looking for copepods, it also introduces microalgae with loads of toxins into the body," biologist Mariano Coscarella from the National Patagonian Center based in Puerto Madryn told press.

This is not the first instance of a whale stranding this season. Earlier this month, a major beaching was reported on New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands, with up to 500 cetaceans meeting horrible deaths for unknown reasons. In September, about two hundred pilot whales likewise beached in Tasmania.
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