"Another ecological tragedy": Pilot whales to be euthanized after mass stranding in Australia, leaves netizens heartbroken

Marine authorities from Australia said that following two days of desperate but fruitless efforts to save them, over 50 pilot whales died on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. The whales had been stranded on the southwest Australian coast and were discovered on Tuesday which was the same day that they got stuck on the beach. A group of these long-finned whales was spotted swimming close to Cheynes Beach, which is located at the southernmost point of Western Australia.

Despite the efforts of 250 volunteers and 100 wildlife authorities to save the whales, 51 of them died on the beach. The remaining whales will be put to death to "avoid their prolonged suffering," according to the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia as reported by CNN.

This entire thing garnered the attention of the netizens. They took to Reuters's Twitter post to express their concern and sorrow over the incident.

The mass death has shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @MinkinaNataly)

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Netizens are heartbroken after seeing the group of helpless pilot whales

Volunteers, veterinarians, and marine life experts tried to help the whales (Image via Associated Press)

Officials are puzzled by the extraordinary behavior of the enormous pod of whales. This included grouping together in the shape of a heart before beaching themselves on a secluded Western Australian beach.

After the whales were discovered washed up close to the beach, marine scientists and volunteers set up a camp around the place to try to rescue them.

When news agencies asked the Western Australia Parks and Wildlife Services about the incident, they said that 51 whales have died "overnight after a mass stranding."

"(We) are working in partnership with registered volunteers and other organizations to try to return the remaining 46 whales to deeper water during the course of the day," they said.

However, since they were unable to do the same, they will eventually put these whales to death.

Needless to say, the incident puzzled the netizens and they took to Twitter to respond to Al Jazeera's post. While some expressed deep regret, others said that it was "tragic."

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @PRBucsFan)

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @PeterHuville)

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @Real_BillWilson)

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @bbygrlpt2)

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @roots_herb / @jacod_bn_izak / @xhertx)

This incident shocked the netizens (Image via Twitter / @LynnFredriksson / @atriedesP / @habibr611)

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What are pilot whales?

These whales are actually dolphins (Image via Getty Images)

The Marine Mammals Protection Regulations of 1992 identifies pilot whales as whales even though they are one of the largest members of the dolphin family. They are called "pilot whales" because it was believed that each pod or group of these whales was designated by a "pilot."

They are divided into two species, the short-finned pilot whales and the long-finned pilot whales. The best way to differentiate between the two is by a skull examination as they are otherwise quite tough to tell apart. Another way to differentiate between the two is the place where they exist. While the long-finned whales living in colder seas, the short-finned whales are mostly found in tropical and warm-temperate regions.

They prefer eating squit and are often found swimming in deep ocean water and can dive up to 1,000 feet. They are also known to eat other sea creatures like fish. Short-finned whales can be found in both tropical and temperate regions throughout the world's oceans, from the North Atlantic to the southern hemisphere.

As mentioned earlier, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia will be euthanizing the whales, which authorities said was a very difficult decision for them to make.