Mass stranding: All whales found dead

[Ohio Joe]

Source: ABC News

There are no survivors from the latest mass whale stranding on Tasmania's west coast.

Authorities were alerted to the stranding of between 80 and 100 long-finned pilot whales on a rocky stretch of Sandy Cape yesterday.

A parks and wildlife team sent to investigate by helicopter yesterday found around 12 survivors, but most of them were already badly injured by the rocky shoreline.

A larger rescue team arrived at the remote beach this morning by four-wheel-drive to find all the whales dead.


Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/30/2433513.htm?section=justin

---

So very sad. I wonder what it is that drives whales to beach themselves.

[Deja Q]

1. Their marriages; their wives nagged them to death...

:puerile1950scomedygag:

[DJ13]

2. .......

:spank:

:rofl:

[Runcible Spoon]

11. what a stupid, borderline sexist comment

completely inappropriate for this post. It's tragic.

[Speciesamused]

32. I concur. What a shallow, worthless comment.

These great creatures are a
part of the circle of life. When they suffer so do
we. What a moron.
:wtf:

[Deja Q]

39. Hmm, I'm sure a part of my post admited it was anachronistic but whatever...

Everyone suffers. What shall we do, sit around and tell maudlin tales?

Yes, my joke was crude and I, in typical riddle formation, admitted as such.

And instead of edifying, all you lot can do is name-call. (See one of my other responses, I'm not going to spam a syllable for wastrels like you.)

Find a fuckin' mirror because your lot are NO BETTER THAN I AM.

"Progressive", my pasty white flabby ass.

[RetroLounge]

43. Keep digging that hole...

:puke:

RL

[Duppers]

63. ....

"Everyone suffers. What shall we do, sit around and tell maudlin tales?"


THEN just crawl under a rock, stop reading/posting, and be fucking happy!


How dare you, you sexist pig! I'm sorry your relationships haven't worked out -- big surprise.



Oh, and welcome to my ignore list, as if you'd give a fuck about anyone here.

[Vidar]

71. I agree, but in HypnoToad's defense, I will say that though he puts his foot

in his mouth with some frequency, he will usually manage to extract said foot, if you have the good grace to let him.

[Deja Q]

36. Tragedy - you don't know the half of it.

[RetroLounge]

37. Nothing borderline about it.

look for the patterns...

RL

[Zuiderelle]

15. Do you ever not suck?

[Deja Q]

34. Nope. So put me on 'ignore' already and save yourself some pain.

Or stop being rabid and inform people how they can help - causes to donate to. Or is being equally petty in return to my pettiness proof that you're better than everyone else?

Good luck.

[Zuiderelle]

44. I simply wonder why you always inject stuff like this into serious threads.

It's not being "rabid" or "petty" or "better than everyone else" ... it's wondering why you do this all the time.

[Deja Q]

46. Thank you for the addendum.

Seriously.

Maybe it's because I feel powerless over these events. A catharsis.

Maybe it's because I carry emotions from other threads, where one would think DUers would be harmonious but instead spew vile. (like the couple that practice what they preach in GD - sorry to namedrop a thread, and yeah it's still blind emotion and maybe I'm trying to find consistency when it's not relevant, I mean what does a marriage have to do with a bunch of dead whales?)

The shitty state of the world, what am I supposed to say and act? Or for any of us, for what it's worth? I'm tired of everything being some god damn funeral atmosphere. Just because I don't act in toe with everyone else doesn't mean I don't give a damn either. Or why it is mandatory one has to act like a clone of everyone in some vain attempt at proving, or why we're supposed to prove anything at all after a certain point.



The next time I see, or better yet post, an issue to discuss, I will see if there are any causes to donate to. Seems only fair, to walk my talk.

[Zuiderelle]

57. You feel powerless so you make an inappropriate joke?

And now you say that people should give you suggestions about organizations to donate to that could help? Why didn't you ask that, instead of making an insensitive (and not very funny) joke in the first place?

I don't understand the rest of your answer. It reads like a Sarah Palin response to an interview question. You could delete whole blocks of words and it wouldn't make any more or less sense to me.

[BoneDaddy]

73. I thought it was funny

God forbid.

[terrya]

19. Apparently, there's nothing funnier than beached whales dying.

And idiots like you making immature comments about it.

[Deja Q]

35. Well, what organizations can I donate money to as there's nothing else I can do?

For all the flak I've deservedly gotten, idiots like you aren't helping much either. ;)

[RetroLounge]

38. Not enough sexist and peurile jokes in the lounge

gotta spread the immaturity, you know...

RL

[Deja Q]

45. :puerile1950scomedygag:

I formally apologize for my crude comment. I might have been wrong in saying it, but if nothing else I certainly should have gone into more detail than a cryptic pseudo-smilie-wannabe that admits:

1. it's puerile
2. admits it is a joke
3. in the style of the 1950s

So what? I'll keep track of the same people and see if they find SOUTH PARK and FAMILY GUY to be the wittiest shows ever written. If so, I'll be back - if I really care enough and for something like this, perhaps I won't.

What's still more interesting is the lack of responses that should have been the case. Not petty name calling, like how they do on free republic, but constructive edification and organizations on where to help. Like I said, and sorry to spam, most of us can't do very much - if money is what makes the world go round, let's do it that way. The more information the merrier.

Even a token reference to greenpeace would be a start.

31 minutes and counting. Thank you.

[ben_meyers]

3. A 34 wagon that they call a woody?

Thats what we used to drive to the beach.

[Thothmes]

23. Not a 1934, more like a 50-52 Ford

[PSPS]

4. Does the US use its long-range sonar there?

A couple of weeks ago, the supreme court ruled to allow the use of this sonar despite its deadly effects on whales.

[Ohio Joe]

5. I don't know

But considering the numbers, that actually sounds like it could be a possibility.

[w4rma]

10. long-range sonar was the first thing that came to my mind. (nt)

[wordpix]

58. if the US doesn't use sonar there, I'm sure some other assinine country does

[FirstLight]

6. Check the Magnetics of the planet and their breakdown

It would seem that the magnetics of the planet may be breaking down over time, and since many animals use these invisible lines to find their way, this could be an explanation...

ya, I know, I need to find the link. Running out the door, I'll have to look later.

[Ohio Joe]

7. Interesting

I just did a quick search and came up with this:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0927_040927_field_flip.html

Probably a simplified explanation but interesting anyway.

[wordpix]

59. more liekly, it's sonar

[ananda]

8. Sonar

And as we know, Bush has just made sonar legal.

[PSPS]

9. Not just "sonar" but "bush's killing sonar"

The sonar in question is a far cry from the traditional kind. This is so powerful that it apparently inflicts inscrutiating pain on whales over a very vast area and, among other things, destroys their ability to navigate. I guess bush uses this knowledge as some kind of substitute when he can't find any torture videos for sexual gratification.

[ngant17]

14. definitely a correlation between Navy sonar and whale'

if I recall, there was an incident off the west coast of US that was attributed to submarine exercises and the secret ultra-low frequency signals which at the very least disorient the whales.

[Lorien]

20. That type of sonar is pure evil

the Military instrial complex and greed destroys all. I swear, it's as if BushCo is on a mission to wipe out as much of the natural world as it possibly can before leaving office. They love to destroy, they adore causing suffering and pain.

[glinda]

26. I believe with my whole heart that Bush is doing exactly that

He is a monster. I am dismayed that there is no effort to stop anything else he does before he leaves office. I can see he is a monster to this Country and I wish they would stop him because he is a traitor to us and to everyone on the planet.

[WriteDown]

54. Was that type of sonar available....

in 1902?

[hack89]

27. Clinton's killing sonar to be more accurate.

LFA has been under development for a long time. Bush is not the first president to not not give a shit about the whales.

[WriteDown]

33. People need to really read up...

Could be sonar, could not be. That area has been a hotspot for whale beaching for a long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_beaching

[wordpix]

60. "hotspot for whale beaching" - and is it a sonar hotspot, too?

[WriteDown]

64. No. nt

[merh]

12. I'm thinking something like

they have a leader like Jim Jones? :shrug:


it is sad, but there is no telling why this happens

[Pharaoh]

13. US Naval Sonar

It is extremely painful to them and they try to flee the water even if it means death.

[hack89]

28. Tasmania?

I doubt very much that the US Navy operates in those waters.

[Pharaoh]

30. You might be suprised n/t

[hack89]

41. It really wasn't a question

I know for a fact that the US Navy does not routinely operate in southern Australian waters. There's no point. The Australian subs are all based to the north - if we we went to all the trouble to send a SURTASS ship all the way from Japan (very unlikely considering how few we have and that we like to keep them close to Korea or Taiwan.) to exercise with the Australians, we still wouldn't be in Tasmanian waters.

[Pharaoh]

42. Well I have no Idea

where all our ships and subs are deployed. Really doesn't matter much to the whales etc if they're ours or someone else s. Either way they are fucked.

[hack89]

48. Except that if no one's ships were nearby

than perhaps there was a cause other than sonars. Heresy I know, but very probable.

[Pharaoh]

51. Could be......

anythings possible, but the main thing is naval vessels. and they aren't talking. Hence, tons of speculation...

[hack89]

56. Are you really saying that there were no whale beaching

prior to the invention of sonar? Perhaps the advent of the internet has simply made them reported more?

[1776Forever]

16. Supreme Court Navy Sonar Case - There is a reason for this & the world needs to question it!

High Court Hears Navy Sonar Case (Final judgment not in yet)

by Nina Totenberg

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95522316

All Things Considered, October 8, 2008 ·

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments in a case testing how far the president and his agencies can go in setting aside environmental laws in the name of national security — and how far the courts can go in intervening in such a controversy.

At issue is the long-running dispute over the Navy's use of mid-frequency sonar in training exercises off the California coast. Environmental advocacy groups contend that federal law requires the Navy to assess the damage that could be caused to whales and dolphins and to adopt steps to minimize that damage.

The president and his Council on Environmental Quality have gotten around that requirement by ordering environmental laws suspended in the name of a national security emergency. The federal courts, however, concluded that there was no emergency — that the military knew for years that it had a problem and ignored it.

(snip)

Kendall: Yes ... the Navy cannot be the judge of its own cause. There's a limit to deference. ... The evidence is overwhelming that beached whales are being stranded by sonar and killed. Autopsies show they are hemorrhaging and dying.

Justice Breyer: The whole purpose of the military is to hurt the environment. You go on a bombing mission — do you have to prepare an environmental impact statement?

Kendall: No, of course not in combat. But here in a training exercise, the military is supposed to minimize the damage.

.........

All in the name of WAR!

[Robb]

18. Tasmanian Coast =/ California Coast. nt

[Lorien]

22. "The whole purpose of the military is to hurt the environment"?

they need to re-examine their purpose, if that;'s the case. There can be no "national Security" without environmental security and health.

[bean fidhleir]

72. I picked up on that too. Maybe they SHOULD have to file a statement before

they use weapons, regardless of context!

[lostnotforgotten]

17. Not Living In Harmony With Mother Nature Will Be the Death Of Us As A Species

eom

[Lorien]

21. Amen to that! nt

[Deja Q]

40. How do you define "living in harmony" and are you prepared to walk your talk?

(I'll keep an eye on this thread for a little while longer in case you're able to respond.)

[lostnotforgotten]

50. The Response Was Initiated By the Idea That The World Is Overpopulated

and hence the activities of man are having a deleterious effect on Earth, including whales.

I walk the talk by not having any children of my own.

[The Stranger]

67. Maybe our species will end first and we can save Mother Nature.

One can only hope.

[ksimons]

24. ironically, the thing that is supposed to be 'secret' is revealed by such horrors

how smart can the military be if they don't self-restrict use of sonar as this result announces their activities more than anything else.

makes the military choice to continue using tactics that undermine their stealth activities a goof at the highest levels - of which numerous and frequent goofs continue

goofs - yes, I said it

[petronius]

68. Only if you assume that all whale beachings are the result of sonar, which is known to not

be the case. It's more likely that this particular beaching is unrelated to sonar, considering that this location has had recorded mass strandings for over a century, and there is little reason for and no reports of significant acoustic activity in the area.

[Algorem]

25. go navy,kill kill.we're so chickenshit we need to kill everything that moves.

i feel so protected.

[Psephos]

55. Whales have been observed doing these mass suicides for centuries

and unobserved for far, far longer.

It does no good to perpetuate myths, even though the feelings behind them are legit.

[wordpix]

61. for centuries? Where's the link for that? I have never read a whaler's account of whales beaching

like that in the 18th or 19th century, and I don't think there are any Native American tales of it, either.

[WriteDown]

65. See my pic...

in post 54. 1902.

[Psephos]

69. Come on, did you even look?

heh heh Didn't you see The Whale Rider? The Ngati Konohi myth is a centuries-old Maori narrative.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of 16th Century engravings from the other side of the world:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Image:Three-Beached-Whales%2C-1577.jpg
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Image:Stranded-whale-Katwijk-1598.jpg

Here's a paper that discusses archaeological evidence that neolithic people routinely harvested stranded whales on the South African coast.
http://www.urgeschichte.uni-tuebingen.de/fileadmin/downloads/Conard/AWKNJCbarnacles2003.pdf

Here's a pdf of a standard text in the field, Marine Mammals Ashore, by Joseph R. Geraci, Valerie J. Lounsbury, Texas A & M University Sea Grant College Program.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=AIwWScWoP6MC&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=whale+beachings+mythology&ots=jEgWy2z3zW&sig=ebfZQ8-l5gbJXQFvvxOV_pEAVAQ#PPP8,M1
The very first sentence of this book reads: "Marine mammals have foundered ashore for centuries, but only in the past few decades have we really begun to understand the reasons why."

Six hundred years ago in Japan, beached whales were said to bring "luck enough for seven villages." From this book, which discusses the Japanese experience with, and attitude toward, whales through history.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TdmJ5FHbNnoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA73&dq=beached+whales+mythology&ots=WUbB4d9jTx&sig=enRebMpyTO1J34t16uQNxPFS8Ow#PPA74,M1

This took me five minutes to compile. There's tons of stuff out there, and certainly better stuff than I stumbled across. Unfortunately, when someone already has a belief, then the urge to acquire facts and draw conclusions from them is not so urgent. A good litmus test for a belief rather than a scientific view is the anger that a challenge raises in the believer. Actual science is a skeptical matter, and any hypothesis that cannot marshal the facts is gladly kicked to the curb, and replaced with one that fits better.

As I see it, human interference in the oceans may very well increase the incidence of beachings, through the amplification of natural mechanisms that have caused beachings for untold thousands of years. More information from neutral sources, and more research conducted without prejudice, is needed.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. Yeah, only a few weeks after the SCOTUS said that the Navy protectin' us from Osama's sub fleet

(well, he MIGHT get a sub fleet!) is more important than whales and dolphins.

Coincidence? Doubtful.

[Kajsa]

31. And the Supremes found that

sonar testing in our oceans is more important
than the whales who live there.


:grr:

[petronius]

47. It seems that this part of Tasmania has experienced mass strandings for a long time

Here's an old but interesting article on the area.

[wordpix]

62. interesting but I still want to know what kind of sonar navy stuff is going on there

Maybe that is driving the pods toward shore.

[THUNDER HANDS]

49. maybe there are, like, whale cults and this was a mass suicide

[and-justice-for-all]

52. "I wonder what it is that drives whales to beach themselves."

Japan's Whale murdering extravaganza perhaps.

[ohio2007]

53. The usual suspect is US navy sonar but Tasmania is off the beaten path

Maybe the alpha female never did take direction susggestion from pod members very kindly. And they all paid for it.

:sarcasm:

[The Stranger]

66. Navy Sonar -- any operations recently by the U.S. Navy? POS Robertson shot down the California

court's order trying to limit U.S. Navy sonar blasts, which obliterate the inner ears and inner workings of whale brains.

[bean fidhleir]

70. As of July '07, the Southern Ocean stopped absorbing CO2

That might have some significance for the problem.