THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY WHALES MASS STRAND

WHY DO WHALES EAT PLASTIC? We have been bombarded lately with news that the stomachs of the sperm whales recently beached in the North Sea were full of plastic.  It happens quite often. The question is why? It's important because if we understand why whales eat plastic before they beach, then we will know the answer to the centuries-old mystery of whale whales mass strand. Hint #1:  Healthy deep-diving whales can tell the difference between a nice juicy squid and plastic garbage floating on the surface by using a high-frequency echolocation and identification system similar to our ultrasonic medical imaging only 1,000 times better. Dolphins have even been known to use biosonar to tell the difference between pennies minted 50 years ago and the ones minted today based simply on the acoustic reflectivity of the extra copper in the older coins. Dolphins can even use their biosonar to tell when a female is a few months pregnant. The amazing visualization syste...

On page 36 of his book on sound imaging in the ocean, German underwater acoustic Professor Peter Willie, the former head of NATO's Undersea Research Center, displays three similar sonograms and compares the noise generated by undersea earthquakes and volcanic explosions with that of submarine nuclear explosions of several thousand tons of TNT-equivalent (ref #1).  Professor Willie says earthquake sounds are the loudest underwater sounds ever produced. He also cautions that we should be aware of the underwater rumbling of   "about 7,000 outstanding, dramatic geodynamic earthquake events per year worldwide, each of a thousand tons of TNT-equivalent and more."   He ought to know because it's his job to determine the acoustic differences between underwater nuclear explosions and natural catastrophic events such as earthquakes. Professor Willie also expresses a belief that evolution has somehow intervened to protect whales fro...