Wildlife experts seek cause of mass whale-stranding
STORY: Holly Raudino, the Senior Marine Research Scientist at Western Australia's Parks And Wildlife Service, said there could be a variety of causes, but the priority of taking samples was to rule out infectious diseases having caused the incident.
Multiple vessels and a spotter plane were monitoring the waters near the Toby Inlet estuary in Geographe Bay in order to make certain that the whales would not 're-strand', according to the organization's Regional Wildlife Officer, Pia Courtis, adding that so far it had not been the case.
In July last year, more than 50 pilot whales died after stranding on a remote Western Australia beach. The state experienced its largest whale stranding at Dunsborough in 1996 when 320 pilot whales beached themselves.
Pilot whales are known for their tight-knit social bonds, so when one gets into difficulty and strands, the rest often follow, according to the University of Western Australia.
