Witnessing any dolphin or whale stranding live is a deeply moving experience; particularly when you end up accompanying an individual to the end of its life. My stomach still churns remembering the time that I encountered one in Scotland. But the reasons behind such events remain mysterious. Dolphins and whales can strand together – most recently, ten long-finned pilot whales became stranded on a beach near Calais, seven of which died – but we can’t pinpoint a single reason why this happens. Instead, many different factors appear to be involved. Some mass strandings are easy to solve, because the individuals involved are similarly sick or injured. In these cases, they...
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