What Is Mass Stranding? Meaning About The Term

What Is Mass Stranding? Meaning About The Term

WHAT IS MASS STRANDING – In this topic, we are going to know and learn the meaning of the term called mass stranding.

MASS STRANDING OFF TASMANIA
Rescuers say many of the whales are inaccessible | Tasmania Police | Image from: BBC

But first, we have to know the definition of the term “stranding”

The term stranding, according to Dosits.org, refers to an aquatic animal observed in an inappropriate location. Stranded animals are usually found on a beach or in shallow water. In the US, about 1,000 cetaceans and 2,500 pinnipeds strand yearly along its coast.

It is commonly known as beaching and is also refered to as a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, and is usually occurring on beaches.

Mass stranding, on the other hand, refers to three or more animals strand together in time and place. This may also include one or several species. Pilot whales are the most common species to be found stranded.

Causes of strandings would include disease, parasite infestation, ship strike, pollution exposure, starvation, extreme weather events, and tidal changes but to determine the said cause of a marine animal stranding or death is usually difficult. These causes can be determined in only about half of all stranding cases

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