THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY WHALES MASS STRAND

On 31 December 2011, a whale mother and male calf were found dead on Opape Beach in the Bay of Plenty at the north end New Zealand's North Island. The seagulls had already pecked their eyes out by the time the park rangers arrive d . Although clearly in the beaked whale family—the most mysterious marine mammal family—scientists thought the pair were relatively well-known Gray's beaked whales. That is until DNA findings told a shocking story: the mother and calf were actually spade-toothed beaked whales ( Mesoplodon traversii ), a species no one had ever seen before. Scientists have known of the spade-toothed beaked whale for over 140 years. Scientifically known as Mesoplodon traversii , the species was named after Henry H. Travers, a New Zealand naturalist who collected a partial jawbone that was found on  Pitt Island  in 1872.  Pitt Island is part of the Chatham Islands group situated about 800 miles downstream from the Bay of Plenty.A damaged

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 re-float 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. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/03/06/Rescuers-save-22-melon-headed-whales/UPI-31111299430669/ We have located 5 earthquakes that might fit this stranding. The one we favor occurred offshore of Taiwan on 15 February 2011 ( Link ). The epicenter was ~1500 miles upstream from the stranding beach. The distance and time traveled agree