A pod of thirty false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) stranded itself this Thursday on Koh Racha, a small island near Phuket that is a regular destination for daytrips, divers and fishing boats. Local residents and hotel staff saved all but one of them, according to Wannakiat Thubthimsang, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center.
The majority of small whales, which were up to 4.2 meters long could be carried or pushed back to sea by local volunteers, but ten of them had to be loaded onto trucks and carried to another beach less than a kilometer away, where calmer waters made it easier to return them to sea.
Unluckily, one of the false killer whales died of shock.
Scientists weren't sure why the whales swam themselves ashore. "They may have run aground because of the strong wave, or they could have been misled by their leader's sonar signal", K. Wannakiat told AFP. "It's not the first time this has happened, but this is a very large number." As other media reported, it was one of the largest mass strandings of cetaceans in the last years for the region around Phuket.
False killer whales are not a threatened species. They are much smaller and less aggressive than their distant relatives, the Orca or killer whale. Like Orcas, scientists classify them as dolphins rather than whales, however other than their cousins they are completely black in color. Adult males reach a length of 5.7 m; females, 4.9 m. Groups of these whales may number from two to several hundred with both sexes and all age groups represented.
False killer whales are social creatures and are known for stranding themselves, especially if the pod leader is sick. When stranded, the whole group of whales often refuses to return seaward, despite the best efforts of volunteers, and even beach themselves again as long as the pod leader is still alive. Therefore some whale rescue organizations go even so far as to advise that the sick individual that led the group on the beach must be killed if it cannot be brought back to sea successfully.
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