Seaquake Causes 7 Sperm Whales to Beach in Southern Australia on Dec. 8th, 2014
On 22 Nov. 2014, a magnitude 5.1 seaquake erupted in the seafloor along the Southeast Indian Ridge 2006 km (1246 mi) SSW of Perth, Australia. This area is a known sperm whale feeding habitat. The whales dive along this range of volcanic mountains feeding mostly on squid. The quake occur at 49.196 S ; 108.748 E. This location is not far from 49.700 S ; 125.870 E where sperm whales were injury by a seaquake on 5 October 2014. This group stranded at Golden Bay New Zealand on 22 November 2014. Sixteen days after the seaquake, on Monday morning (December 8), six sperm whales stranded on Parara Beach in the Gulf of Saint Vincent just south of the town of Ardrossan. A seventh whale was found near a jetty later in the day. A fisherman has also reported seeing an eighth whale in deeper water. (see top news report) Ardrossan caravan park manager Steve Ruddock said a worker at his park spotted some of the stranded whales splashing in the water as the tide headed on the mor