Mystery Surrounds Dozens of Dead Beached Whales in Iceland

In this week’s strangest news, dozens of beached whales have washed up on the shore of Iceland.

The whales were first noticed by pilot David Schwarzhans flying his helicopter over a beach at Longufjorur in western Iceland.

He stated, “We were flying northbound over the beach and then we saw them. We were circling over it not sure if it was whales, seals or dolphins. We landed and counted about 60 but there must have been more because there were fins sticking out of the sand…”

This isn’t the first instance of pilot whales being found beached: In November 2018, about 145 whales were found on a beach in New Zealand.

Local Icelandic marine biologist, Edda Elisabet Magnusdottir, may have the solution – she mentioned that when mammals enter shallow waters, “most of them have a tendency to become disorientated“. She added that pilot whales usually swim in groups, which is why so many of them become stranded at the same time.

Featured image: DAVID SCHWARZHANS

Luda Berdnyk

Luda is originally from a tiny city in Ukraine, but moved to San Francisco, California, when she was a child and has lived there for 17+ years. Her interests include traveling, learning about (and trying food from) different countries, hiking, and exploring her city.