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Why can a Whale run ashore?

Question by Ladybird | 2018-01-22 at 19:28

Again and again you can see huge whales lying on the beach, which are apparently stranded. I've been wondering for a while how this is possible with these huge creatures!

For me, this incident raises several questions: How can a giant whale come to the beach without being carried there? The water there should actually be way too shallow for him and a heavy whale is not a flotsam, which can just run aground and take the ground so easily. Why do whales not recognize the shore like other fish?

Does anyone know more about it? Why can whales strand? It's a mystery to me!

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Due to the tides, low ebb tide and high flow tide, the water level of the oceans constantly fluctuates. If a whale is on its way near the shore at high tide and the whale does not make it to deeper waters in time when the water level drops again, it may be that the whale is running aground - especially if a sandbank prevents the return route.

In addition, whales are based on their hearing and echo sounder. The competitive sonar of the ships and the increasing noise on the oceans disturbs this orientation of the whales. This can drive the whales into shallow waters in which their orientation is no longer possible. Normally a whale would not swim in such shallow waters near the shore if it had kept its bearings. Sonars should also confuse the whales so that they do not eat anymore.
2018-01-23 at 11:28

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