Author: Noel Ashton
Posted: Sunday, 31 May 2009

Yesterday was a very difficult day that ended in sadness.

In the world of whales an event like this, although tragic, is not unknown. Various species, such as pilot whales and false killer whales do strand, and as they are gregarious species, more often than not a whole group will end up in trouble, possibly following a leader who might be sick, disorientated, *or* for some reason experiencing trouble with navigation.

Strandings are still confusing to us, and are events that we do not know how to prevent, apart from the possibility of stopping military sonar activity which, it appears, can seriously disrupt cetaceans ability to navigate. As pilot and false killer whales are deep water species (usually deeper than 1000m), the inshore environment is an area with which they are unfamiliar, and so yesterday’s onshore choppy conditions with a gradually shelving beach and rocks was completely confusing for them. Compounding the problem was the possibility that the leader was still on the beach when other members of the pod were being returned to the sea, causing them to return to the shore.

The enormous and heartening response to yesterday’s stranding was another indication of how we as humans respond to these extraordinary mammals, and I must thank each and every one of you for what you did. When I arrived at the beach yesterday, and as I have been involved with stranding events since the eighties (which incidentally for me started with another deep water species – a school of Risso’s dolphins in St Helena Bay), it was plain to see that the chances of a successful outcome were not good, but it was worth the try – actually it would have been wrong not to try. I was once again heartened by the human spirit as I started briefing teams with the whales on the eastern section of the beach, for as soon as people knew what to do, they gave everything they had, resulting in some quite serious injuries to people I might add. Carefully refloating whales is tricky because of their weight, because they are difficult to handle, and because by the time they are on the beach they are stressed, confused and disorientated. Various options are available, such as refloating and giving them a chance to re-stabilize themselves before release, waiting for the next tide, keeping them calm and cool, and to reduce stress as much as possible whilst other opportunities are considered, such as mechanical **or** air lifting. All of these options were considered yesterday.

As the situation developed I monitored the state of each animal’s stress and health, and although some animal’s heart rates and breathing patterns slowed, especially when we brought them closer together, as the day went on, things deteriorated. It was important to note how bringing individuals together calmed them down, as this showed their social nature, but this was one of the problems. With animals spread across the beach, and as released individuals were re-stranding further down the beach after release, it became more and more difficult to co-ordinate a potential group release, a strategy at times important with grouping species.

Regarding the final outcome yesterday, I was not a part of this, and therefore cannot comment on it directly, and only wish to say that there were some very experienced people monitoring the situation, and the final decision to put them out of their misery I am sure was not taken lightly. Often to onlookers who are not familiar with whales and dolphins and stranding events like this, it is difficult to understand and evaluate all that is going on, including the stress, pain and suffering being experienced by the animals, the various options and their potential success given the location, sea conditions and time since stranding, especially taking into consideration the experience with similar events that have happened in South Africa and around the world.

I am deeply saddened by yesterday, but out of this I see hope, for when whales and dolphins (and other animals) are in distress, people will respond – showing a deep emotional connection with the natural world around us. Maybe we can use this opportunity to ask why people responded with such determination yesterday, whilst at the same time baboons are shot, animals are trapped, seals are clubbed and whales are brutally harpooned. It is interesting to observe that all of these brutalities are at the hand of man, whilst yesterday’s event was an act of nature.

I thank you for what you felt and gave.

Noel Ashton
www.noelashton.com
31 May 2009