Six northern bottlenose whales have died in what has been described as the largest live stranding of the species in the country’s history.
The whales were discovered on Rossknowlagh Beach and with each of the adults whales weighing weigh 3 or 4 tonnes, very little can be done for these deep-diving offshore species when they come ashore and strand – refloating them is pretty impossible in most instances. A seventh whale, however, managed to refloat itself and was seen swimming away but hopes of its survival, making it back to its normal habitat alive is unlikely as they usually live in very deep waters.
Samples from the dead whales have been taken to help determine if acoustic trauma caused by humans may have been the cause of why the whales came ashore.
Northern bottlenose whales are the largest members of the beaked whale family and can dive to at least 1500 metres for up to two hours to catch their favourite prey – squid. Current conservation concerns relating to the species include threats from human activities such as disturbance related to offshore oil and gas developments and naval sonar.
