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Cetacean stranding
Whales or dolphins getting stuck on a beach / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cetacean stranding, commonly known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.[1] Cetacean stranding has occurred since before recorded history.[2]
![Photo of dozens of whales](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Blackfish.jpg/640px-Blackfish.jpg)
Several explanations for why cetaceans strand themselves have been proposed, including changes in water temperatures,[3] peculiarities of whales' echolocation in certain surroundings,[4] and geomagnetic disturbances,[5] but none have so far been universally accepted as a definitive reason for the behavior. However, a link between the mass beaching of beaked whales and use of mid-frequency active sonar has been found.[6]
Whales that die due to stranding can subsequently decay and bloat to the point where they can explode, causing gas and their internal organs to fly out.