Pilot Whale strandings discussion

[lock_washer]

This just made the news...another possible stranding of 100 pilot whales off Scotland.

Fears of mass whale stranding as experts rush to Western Isles to treat injured mammals | Mail Online

The sad thing about this possible stranding...in the UK there is no rehab facility to treat cetaceans. Also since they closed up all their aquariums, and facilities that use to display dolphins: there is no other place to take them there. So the end result is their policy to euthanize all cetaceans that wash ashore. Fortunately a couple of harbor porpoises that have stranded in the UK were lucky enough to be transported to aquariums in Denmark and Holland that rehab and display porpoises.

Lock Washer

 

[mselenaous]

Any stranding is sad news, even more so when there are no systems in place to help the surviving animals recuperate.

 

[lock_washer]

Any stranding is sad news, even more so when there are no systems in place to help the surviving animals recuperate.

Yeah, I totally agree. If you provide a rehab center whether the animals survive or not: yiou are able to build an knowledge base of information about treating different species, and aliments that cetaceans are afflicted with. Information like this can be pass on to other rehab facilities to provide better treatments.

 

[Boiler_81]

I am not asking this question to strike emotions but I am sure there will people who are upset by it. However, I have to ask. Why do we interfere with nature in these cases? Many of the posters here are for protected marine reserves where we let nature be natural. However, when "bad" things happen we want to do something contrary to nature. Believe me, I don't really care either way on this subject, I am just trying to understand the thought process.

 

[mselenaous]

I am not asking this question to strike emotions but I am sure there will people who are upset by it. However, I have to ask. Why do we interfere with nature in these cases? Many of the posters here are for protected marine reserves where we let nature be natural. However, when "bad" things happen we want to do something contrary to nature. Believe me, I don't really care either way on this subject, I am just trying to understand the thought process.

Not to the original intention of this thread, but are you assuming that the root causes of these mass strandings are just "nature" without any thought to potential human impact on the environment being a contributing factor in some way?

I was told by the director of MMC that they can not comment on any necropsy or medical findings of the Keys stranding because this may be evidence related to criminal investigation stemming from the Deep Water Horizon spill.

Humans have a much more long reaching impact than we want to admit.

:focus:
Now back to the topic of the Whales. Thanks to mermaid223, debbydiver and horsenail, heath sapp, and other SBers who have volunteered this week but haven't posted in this thread.

 

[Boiler_81]

There may or may not be a link to human activity for whale strandings. From what I have read there are theories of human causes but no proof. Whale strandings were know the the ancient Greeks - long before humans had a significant impact. The frequency may or may not have changed since that time. I don't think there is definitive data to support either case.

 

[Scott L]

I am not asking this question to strike emotions but I am sure there will people who are upset by it. However, I have to ask. Why do we interfere with nature in these cases? Many of the posters here are for protected marine reserves where we let nature be natural. However, when "bad" things happen we want to do something contrary to nature. Believe me, I don't really care either way on this subject, I am just trying to understand the thought process.

Given their small population numbers due to human action, why would we not intervene to save them when we have so fine folks willing to contrbute in the effort?

 

[Boiler_81]

"Pilot whales are amongst the most common and most widely distributed of the marine mammals in the cetacean order."
Pilot whale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Scott L]

"Pilot whales are amongst the most common and most widely distributed of the marine mammals in the cetacean order."
Pilot whale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And your point is? Once again, why are you questioning the rescue efforts? My guess is, you are an argumentive troll...

 

[Boiler_81]

I am hardly a troll – 138 posts to SCUBA board and I have not once been accused of being an “argumentative troll” or any other kind of troll. I am fine with people assisting these animals. I really don’t care if people want to do it.

My question was, how do we reconcile supporting marine sanctuaries (which I support) where we let nature take it’s course with rescuing stranded whales. Nature can be very ugly at times and we have a hard time accepting her ugly side. mselenaous made the argument the stranding themselves may not be natural. This in my mind is a somewhat legitimate reason even though it is not known to what extent or even if strandings are caused by man. The argument these animals are rare does not hold with the known population levels.

I will not post in this thread again.