Beaked whales wash ashore in ‘highly unusual’ strandings in Donegal

Three Beaked Whales were found dead in three separate locations in Donegal and Mayo over the weekend.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has described the strandings as “highly unusual” for the deep-diving mammal.
The IWDG reported that in Donegal, one whale was found floating in Sheephaven Bay and another on Gola Island, while in Mayo the third whale was found at Tirraun on the Mullet Peninsula.
According to the IWDG, three or four strandings of the animals, which are known as Cuvier’s beaked whales, in one year is relatively normal but “it is highly unusual to have three recorded in separate locations on the one day”.
The cause of death is not known in any of the strandings but it is believed that all three of the animals had been dead for several days and were in a poor condition when they washed up on shore.