Sperm whales beach in Germany again

This video says about itself:

SPERM WHALES ‘ADOPT’ DEFORMED DOLPHIN

25 January 2013

This video depicts a very rare interaction between sperm whales and an adult bottlenose dolphin with a spinal malformation (i.e. scoliosis). This represents the first time this type of non-agonistic (friendly) interaction has been recorded for sperm whales. We published a description of these interactions in the scientific journal “Aquatic Mammals”.

Wilson, A.D.M. and Krause, J. 2013. Repeated non-agonistic interactions between a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Azorean waters . Aquatic Mammals, 39:89 – 96.

The title of this video is taken from the title chosen for the first media article on this encounter which was published in Science News.

First, two sperm whales beached on Wangerooge island in Germany.

Then, yesterday, five sperm whales beached on Texel island in the Netherlands. A Texel warden’s report on this is here.

Today, three sperm whales beached in Schleswig-Holstein; and one dead sperm whale was found near the estuary of the Weser river, also in Germany.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands today:

Michael Dähne of the maritime museum in Stralsund says that about the cause of the sperm whale mortality still nothing can be said. There may be natural causes such as a disease, he says, but the animals may also have been blown off course by sonar signals. Dähne hopes that the investigation into the carcasses will quickly give more clarity on that.