Sunday, March 6, 2011
MITO, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) Twenty-two melon-headed whales that had washed ashore in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, were rescued and returned to the sea Saturday by authorities and local volunteers.
About 50 of the whales were found beached Friday night.
Around 200 people, including staff from Ibaraki's Oarai Aquarium, municipal government officials and local residents and surfers tried to save the whales by keeping them hydrated while they tried to refloat them, but about 30 of them died, according to the municipal government.
Melon-headed whales are commonly seen offshore around the area in early spring.
_______________________________________________________________
We have several earthquakes that might fit this stranding. Our favorite pick is a shallow magnitude mb 5.4 that occurred 11:23 pm on 15 February 60 km SE of Okinawa, ~1,200 miles south of the stranding beach. The surface currents run in a direct path from Okinawa to the stranding beach. (see below)
The USGS website indicates this event was 4 km down below the surface of the sea.
This pod of seaquake-wounded dolphins managed to swim past the fisherman at Taiji, otherwise they might have ended up slaughter.
