The Russian Navy is “likely” training combat dolphins to intercept enemy divers in the Black Sea, according to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence">U.K. Ministry of Defence</a>.
The information came in an “<a href="https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1672118745991397376/photo/3">Intelligence Update</a>” from the ministry on Friday, which revealed imagery around the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s main naval base at Sevastopol, Crimea.
“Russia has trained animals for a range of missions, but the ones housed in Sevastopol harbour are highly likely intended to counter enemy divers,” the statement said.
The intelligence gathered by the U.K. showed nets, booms, and marine mammal pens used to defend the base and train dolphins for military purposes. The ministry’s post stated,“This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbour entrance. In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals.”
The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed the imagery and <a href="https://news.usni.org/2022/04/27/trained-russian-navy-dolphins-are-protecting-black-sea-naval-base-satellite-photos-show">confirmed</a> the intelligence, concluding that Russia moved the two dolphin pens to Sevastopol in February. According to the USNI, the dolphins could “be tasked with counter-diver operations” and “prevent Ukrainian special operations forces from infiltrating the harbor underwater to sabotage warships.”
The Sevastopol base is the Russian Navy’s most important naval base in Crimea and stores many high value Russian ships. The base is seen as especially vulnerable to Ukrainian sabotage since it is out of range of Ukrainian missiles.
“Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins,” the statement continued. The suspected dolphin training comes alongside heightened security in Sevastopol following Ukrainian drone strikes in April, according to <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/world/2023/06/26/russia-dolphins-ukraine-war-uk/70356695007/">The Tennessean</a>. 
Bottle-nosed dolphins can detect underwater mines and enemy swimmers using echolocation — sounds the dolphin emits and then bounce back to the dolphin. According to the <a href="https://www.niwcpacific.navy.mil/marine-mammal-program/">Naval Information Warfare Center</a>, dolphins have the most sophisticated sonar known to science. 
Russia has previously used Beluga whales and seals in the Arctic Ocean for naval surveillance missions. A Beluga whale made <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56956365">headlines</a> in 2021 when it appeared on the coast of Norway when it appeared to be used for Russian intelligence. Locals nicknamed the whale “Hvaldimir” and freed the whale from its camera-bearing harness.
This isn’t the first time dolphins have been used in a military context. The U.S. studied and trained dolphins and beluga whales to improve their own sonar technology and improve their vessels’ speed, according to “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/navycron.html">A Whale of Business</a>,” a PBS’ episode of “Frontline.”
The Marine Mammal Program (MMP), starting in 1960, “also trained dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions and other marine mammals to perform various underwater tasks, including delivering equipment to divers underwater, locating and retrieving lost objects, guarding boats and submarines, and doing underwater surveillance using a camera held in their mouths.”
According to PBS, the MMP had over 100 dolphins and operated with an $8 million budget in the 1980s, playing a key surveillance role in the Cold War. 
The U.S. Navy used bottlenose dolphins in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars to patrol waters, alert guards, and tag enemy swimmers with a tracking device so American troops could capture or neutralize the swimmer. Though the Navy denies it, the episode claims that dolphins were also trained to shoot enemy swimmers.

Dolphins in Caribbean Sea water

Russian Navy ‘Likely’ Training Combat Dolphins, UK Defense Ministry Says

Russian Navy 'Likely' Training Combat Dolphins, UK Defense Ministry Says

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Russia

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U.K.

U.S. Navy

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Ukraine-Russia War

Whale

wildlife

Why are so many whales dying this year?
At least <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/03/16/why-are-so-many-whales-washing-up-dead-on-east-coast-beaches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">29 whales</a> have washed up on the Atlantic coast since December, including over a dozen in New Jersey. A number of whales beach on the east coast every year, but the uptick in deaths has alarmed scientists.
The string of whale demises has coincided with prep work for the installation of several large clean energy offshore wind farms in the waters around the northeast, sparking concerns that the wind farms are causing the deaths.
Critics of the wind farms have argued that ocean floor preparation work including the sonar used by energy companies to map the ocean floor and the noise made by seabed rock sampling may have caused the whale deaths.
At least 13 whales have washed up in New Jersey and New York alone as of April 4, <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/15804f85-838e-4870-bd16-aa383f37bd63/2023%20CETACEAN%20STRANDING%20DATA%20-%20Sheet1%20(17).pdf">according</a> to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
It&#8217;s not just whales, either. At <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/15804f85-838e-4870-bd16-aa383f37bd63/2023%20CETACEAN%20STRANDING%20DATA%20-%20Sheet1%20(17).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">least 25</a> dolphins and a couple of porpoises have washed up on New Jersey&#8217;s shores as well.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Republicans <a href="https://www.senatenj.com/index.php/oscanlon/oscanlon-durr-introduce-resolution-urging-moratorium-on-offshore-wind-projects/60146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a resolution calling for an immediate moratorium on offshore wind energy projects due to the &#8220;unexplained&#8221; marine life deaths. Dozens of New Jersey mayors have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dozens-nj-mayors-call-immediate-offshore-wind-moratorium-latest-whale-deaths">called</a> to halt the projects as well.
&#8220;After months of whales and dolphins washing up on our beaches, enough is enough,&#8221; said state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, who represents a beach district and introduced the proposal.
&#8220;We cannot ignore the surge in marine life deaths that has occurred while offshore wind project preparation activities have been conducted along the coast,&#8221; O’Scanlon said. “While the Governor has stated that ‘there’s no evidence these activities are causing these whale and dolphin deaths’, he omits that he, and we, simply have no idea what’s causing these tragic deaths.&#8221;
New Jersey is working on <a href="https://dep.nj.gov/offshorewind/projects/#ny-bight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three</a> offshore wind projects with the ambitious <a href="https://www.nj.gov/emp/energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goal</a> of 100% clean energy for New Jersey by 2050. The GOP proposal to stop work on New Jersey&#8217;s wind projects is likely to get shut down by Democrats. Even if it survives the legislature, Governor Phil Murphy is unlikely to sign it.
Last month, Murphy, a Democrat, <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2023/02/citing-disinformation-murphy-will-not-stop-nj-offshore-wind-work-after-whale-deaths.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> &#8220;disinformation&#8221; around the whale deaths and said he will push forward with the wind energy projects despite the concerns.
The federal government has also downplayed the possibility of any connection to the wind farms.
Two government agencies, the Marine Mammal Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) <a href="https://www.mmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/Update-on-Strandings-of-Large-Whales-along-the-East-Coast-2.21.2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both</a> <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/marine-life-distress/frequent-questions-offshore-wind-and-whales?fbclid=IwAR2TXmI7xEfF89Cws7dmZJWYxkgnqTfl-nd6Fj3ql0D15bGharPlYOa_Z5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> initially that there is &#8220;no evidence&#8221; that wind farms are the culprit.
Some of the whales, mostly humpbacks, showed evidence that they were hit by ships, the MMC said.
Last week though, the NOAA <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAAFISHERIES/bulletins/352c198" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> that a planned wind energy project 15 miles off the shore of Atlantic City is &#8220;likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of&#8221; whales and other sea life in the area.
The NOAA has been <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/2016-2023-humpback-whale-unusual-mortality-event-along-atlantic-coast#causes-of-the-humpback-whale-ume" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking</a> higher numbers of beached humpback whales as an &#8220;unusual mortality event&#8221; since 2016, but deaths of several species of whales and other marine life have increased in the last few months.
New Jersey&#8217;s Environmental Protection Department was also quiet about the whale deaths at first. Eventually, the department said it is “aware of no credible evidence&#8221; that offshore wind farms are killing whales, but it will “continue to monitor” the situation.
The beached whales have caused a rift among environmentalists.
Clean Ocean Action, one of the few environmental groups to criticize offshore wind energy, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> an odd couple team with Republican lawmakers who oppose the projects.
On the other side are the New Jersey chapters of the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters, who say climate change is the bigger threat. Essentially, their argument is that a few dead whales now is worth the clean energy that will help save the planet.
“I find it unreasonable to call for the pause or moratorium on offshore wind — which is going to save us all,” New Jersey Sierra Club Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
States in the northeast have been racing to become hubs for wind energy.
New York has also seen at least two whale deaths this year as it aggressively pursues plans for offshore wind projects.
Governor Kathy Hochul has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/nyregion/new-york-wind-farm-rhode-island.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for New York to produce <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/gigawatt-the-solar-energy-term-you-should-know-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enough</a> wind energy to power 6.7 million homes by 2035, more than twice the households in New York City. In December, a group of environmentalists <a href="https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-Governor-Hochul-on-Offshore-Wind-Goals.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> Hochul to commit to even more.
President Biden has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/29/whale-deaths-new-jersey-offshore-wind-00079462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> a national goal of enough offshore wind energy to power 10 million homes by 2030.
For now though, Republican legislators and many New Jersey residents are not going quietly, and they are optimistic they can make a change.
&#8220;I&#8217;m witnessing firsthand,&#8221; a commercial fisherman of over 25 years <a href="https://pressofatlanticcity.com/demonstrators-speak-for-whales-in-word-and-song/article_19668bc9-2441-5b76-ba0e-3e8deb2238b1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Press of Atlantic City at a protest last week. &#8220;The governor has the statistics with the actual work they&#8217;re doing and what the impact is, and they&#8217;re not addressing it. &#8230; Look at what you&#8217;re doing and what the documents say and pay attention to it. Stop issuing permits to kill endangered species.&#8221;
&#8220;The support is definitely getting stronger,&#8221; a woman at the protest <a href="https://pressofatlanticcity.com/demonstrators-speak-for-whales-in-word-and-song/article_19668bc9-2441-5b76-ba0e-3e8deb2238b1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the outlet.

Environmentalists Rally During The World Whale Day To Call For End Of Offshore Wind Energy Development Along The Jersey Shore

With More Whales And Dolphins Washing Ashore, Officials Have To Ask: Are Wind Farms To Blame?

Biden

Biden Administration

Democrats

Energy

Environment

Environmentalism

Environmentalists

New Jersey

Solar Power

Over the last few months, roughly two dozen whale corpses have washed up on the Atlantic Coast of the United States. The unexplained increase in fatalities is happening as the state of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Jersey</a> is constructing a massive offshore wind farm, which some conservationists claim is affecting whale navigation.
Federal scientists insist that no evidence has directly linked the construction to the spike in beached whales, but some local lawmakers, environmentalist groups, and conservative commentators have insisted the wind turbines are the obvious culprit and are demanding action.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tracked 184 “<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/2016-2023-humpback-whale-unusual-mortality-event-along-atlantic-coast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unusual mortality events</a>” for Humpback whales in the area since 2016 — roughly 25 per year, but over the past few months, there have been <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2360641-why-are-so-many-whales-getting-stranded-on-us-beaches/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 22 large whales</a> stranded in the region, including 15 humpbacks, rivaling last year’s annual total.
“It’s an alarming surge,” said Sheila Dean, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in New Jersey.
Roughly a third of the corpses have washed up on the shores of New York and New Jersey — that’s significant because a massive wind farm is being constructed off New Jersey’s coast. The state has committed $10 billion to the project, which they hope will generate 11 Gigawatts of power by 2040. But now, there’s a growing effort to stop the project.
Thousands of protesters gathered on Sunday — “international whale day” — at Pleasant Point Beach in New Jersey to lobby for a moratorium on offshore wind developments. The group spearheading the effort, Clean Ocean Action, was initially supportive of smaller wind projects, but has expressed concerns over the impact larger developments could have.
<div id="attachment_505219" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-505219" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-505219 size-medium" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/02/Wind-Kills-Whales-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress</div>
“At this point, there is no evidence to support speculation that noise resulting from wind development-related site characterization surveys could potentially cause mortality of whales,” according to the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/marine-life-distress/frequent-questions-offshore-wind-and-whales">official website of the NOAA</a>, “and no specific links between recent large whale mortalities and currently ongoing surveys. We will continue to gather data to help us determine the cause of death for these mortality events.”
While investigations have not connected the construction of the wind farm to the excess fatalities, some employees of the NOAA had raised concerns about the risks it may pose before the surge began.
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Sean Hayes, chief of the protected species branch at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-18/why-are-whales-dying-in-new-jersey-some-blame-wind-farms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> regulators last year that “additional noise, vessel traffic and habitat modifications due to offshore wind development will likely cause added stress [to whales and] result in additional population consequences.”
Whales and other cetaceans often rely on echolocation, a sort of natural sonar, to sense their surroundings, and excess noise could distort their perceptions and lead them into dangerous waters.
Advocates of the turbines have argued that the ships involved only account for 2% of the total traffic in the area — the port of New York and New Jersey is the <a href="https://container-news.com/top-10-the-busiest-container-ports-in-the-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third busiest</a> in the United States — and whatever minor marine disruptions that are created would be offset by a decline in greenhouse emissions.
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dozens-nj-mayors-call-immediate-offshore-wind-moratorium-latest-whale-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30 mayors of coastal communities</a> in the area, and several sitting members of Congress, including Chris Smith (R-NJ), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-wind-farms-killing-whales-environmentalism-sean-hannity-1781312" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA) have called for a moratorium on the project. Tucker Carlson of Fox News also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foVo6GP8Vmw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> the issue to a national audience.
The office of Governor Phil Murphy put out a statement in response to the public outcry, expressing sympathy for concerned environmentalists while insinuating that some critics were not concerned with whales at all and were merely capitalizing on the situation to shut down a project they had already opposed.
“We know that many residents, both in our shore communities and across the state, share our genuine concern for marine life and its survival,” the statement said. “But we also know that there are those out there who are motivated not by a concern for our environment but by their own political ideologies and opposition to the very efforts that will preserve and protect our environment for generations to come.”
Other observers were even less charitable.
“It’s just a cynical disinformation campaign,” Greenpeace oceans director John Hocevar told <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/11/whale-deaths-and-windmills/11178432002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Today</a>.
Still, while the cause of the surge in stranded whales has not been firmly established, the phenomenon is indisputable.
“I’ve gotten lots of information from different sources,” said Kim Wetzel, 57, an Ocean City resident who attended Sunday’s rally, “and you can’t argue with the fact that 10 whales have washed up.”

US-ANIMAL-WHALE

Wind Farm Blamed For Surge In Dead Whales On U.S. Atlantic Coast

Animals

Greenpeace

Nature

Science

Scientists have <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/17/dead-sperm-whale-oregon-coast/11069020002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">determined</a> the cause of death of a sperm <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/whale" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whale</a> that washed up on shore in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oregon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon</a> over the weekend. 
A necropsy was finished on Monday by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who determined that the whale was hit by a vessel. NOAA spokesperson Michael Milstein said that the whale passed away after being hit by a ship as internal bleeding revealed that the whale had been struck. 
“The whale then apparently floated a while before washing ashore on Saturday,” Milstein <a href="https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-coast/scientists-determine-what-killed-washed-ashore-whale-on-oregon-coast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KOIN 6 News.
The Seaside Aquarium noted that the whale was not alive prior to when it arrived on the shore. The necropsy also showed that the whale was a 20-year-old male and was mostly healthy when it was hit. 
The aquarium noted that male sperm whales can live as long as sixty years and get up to 60 feet long. The site said that people can go see the whale, but they should avoid touching it to prevent the spread of diseases. 
&#8220;It’s a little alarming, but it’s nature, so it’s interesting,&#8221; Kay Schilliam, who visited the whale on the shore, told <a href="https://www.kptv.com/2023/01/15/sperm-whale-carcass-washes-ashore-fort-stevens-state-park/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FOX12 Oregon.</a>
“This is one of my most exciting days. I’ve dreamed about seeing a whale washed up since childhood,” Amber Limb, another person who went to see the whale, said. “I had to take a pause and take it all in before I started taking as many pictures as I could.”
“I thought about the line from Moby Dick. Captain Ahab says a dead whale or a stowed boat, well you have both right here,” Dan Limb, another sightseer said.
Over the weekend, Milstein said it was “40 to 50 feet long,” which is fully grown. 
“They are endangered, so they are protected,” he added. 
“It is a bit unusual to see a sperm whale here this time of year, so that’ll be one of the questions you know, we’re asking,” Milstein said. “Does this help us understand the population and distribution of sperm whales off the West Coast?”
This isn’t the first time that ocean wildlife has come up on the shores of the United States. Just recently, on Wednesday, a female orca <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/dead-sperm-whale-washes-oregons-fort-stevens-state-park-unusual-encounter-expert-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">came ashore</a> on a beach in Florida. The orca was a female, measuring at 21 feet long. Authorities said the orca had probably died because of “various illnesses.” 
In New Jersey and New York, seven deceased whales washed up over the course of several weeks. Their deaths were also being investigated.

Mexico, Baja California, Diving Sperm whale

Cause Of Death Revealed For Sperm Whale That Washed Ashore In Oregon

U.S.

A killer whale beached itself and died on a Florida beach Wednesday morning, an event that researchers say they’ve never encountered in the Southeastern United States. 
Tourists and locals in Palm Coast, Florida, 30 miles north of Daytona Beach, were given the opportunity to see a massive 21-foot female orca up close as waves crashed into it. The orca, also known as a killer whale, is the “ocean&#8217;s top predator,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 
“This is extremely rare,” NOAA’s Blaire Mase <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/killer-whale-dies-after-becoming-stranded-on-florida-beach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, adding “We&#8217;ve never had a record of a stranded killer whale in Florida or the Southeast United States.”
A man was taking a morning walk on the beach around 6 a.m. when he came across the orca <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/21-foot-killer-whale-dies-after-beaching-florida/story?id=96383586" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> to weigh three-and-a-half tons. The man believed it was alive but was unsure because it was still dark outside, so he called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), <a href="https://www.wesh.com/article/orca-palm-coast-beach/42460315" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WESH 2</a> reports. 
“We saw something large in the water. It was about 25 feet off the shore,&#8221; the man told the outlet. He added that the white color on its underside was a sign that it was an orca, so he sent a picture to a biologist who confirmed his suspicion. 
Authorities arrived on the scene to attempt to save the orca, but it died before they could reach it. The Flagler County Sheriff&#8217;s office shared that SeaWorld and the FWC would perform a necropsy, an autopsy for animals, on the large marine mammal. Video and pictures shared by the Flagler Sheriff show the orca lying on the shore with waves crashing into it. They cautioned people to avoid the area and even closed the road because of the large crowds that gathered to catch a glimpse of the rare sight. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Deputies are on scene south of Jungle Hut Park in Palm Coast after a 21-foot orca whale beached itself this morning. It has since lost its life. <a href="https://twitter.com/SeaWorld?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SeaWorld</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/MyFWC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MyFWC</a> are also assisting with its necropsy and removal. Please avoid the area at this time.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlaglerCounty?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlaglerCounty</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FCSO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FCSO</a> <a href="https://t.co/HcDx0ns225">pic.twitter.com/HcDx0ns225</a>
&mdash; FlaglerSheriff (@FlaglerSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlaglerSheriff/status/1613179384046796801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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It was quite a task getting the orca off the beach, requiring dozens of people, a bulldozer, and compact loaders, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/21-foot-killer-whale-dies-after-beaching-florida/story?id=96383586" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>. Video shared on Twitter shows the killer whale arriving at SeaWorld in Orlando, riding in the back of a trailer with its tail hanging off. 
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It looks like the orca that beached in Flagler County has arrived at SeaWorld in Orlando ⁦⁦⁦ <a href="https://t.co/ZcgfB9bSTs">pic.twitter.com/ZcgfB9bSTs</a>
&mdash; Hayley Crombleholme (@HayleyHolme) <a href="https://twitter.com/HayleyHolme/status/1613298816173711360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Researchers have so far been unable to determine what might have caused the orca to beach itself, as there were no immediate <a href="https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/ocra-rescue-recovery-mission-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signs</a> of a shark attack or a collision with a boat. But an NOAA official has said it did show “signs of various illnesses” according to the <a href="https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/environment/2023/01/12/dead-florida-killer-whale-go-to-smithsonian-for-possible-display/69803039007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daytona Beach News Journal</a>. The skeleton of the orca may one day be displayed in the Smithsonian Institution, the outlet says. 
The <a href="https://wildlifeflorida.org/whales-beach/#:~:text=The%20beaching%20of%20a%20single,are%20the%20most%20commonly%20affected." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fish and Wildlife</a> Foundation of Florida notes that whales and other animals often beach themselves due to sickness, injury, bad weather, navigational errors, or hunting too close to shore. Orcas “very rarely become beached unintentionally,” the group notes. 
Killer whales are found in every ocean in the world and are the largest member of the dolphin family with 50,000 across the world, according to NOAA. Most of them are found in colder waters around Alaska, Norway, and Antarctica, but they can also be found in subtropical and tropical waters.

Orca jumping out of water.

Killer Whale Beaches Itself, Dies On Florida Coast In ‘Extremely Rare’ Occurrence

Florida

Dramatic video shows the moment a massive humpback whale crashed into a fishing boat off the coast of Cape Cod.
Cell phone video obtained by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB showed up-close footage of the incident, which originally occurred on Sunday. The video shows the whale breaching straight up out of the water, then slamming into the small boat. Other videos taken by witnesses show the whale slamming headfirst into the bow of the boat, pushing it down while throwing the stern out of the water.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New video shows what it was like for the people on board a boat off the coast of Plymouth as a whale breached and crashed on to it. <a href="https://t.co/7IkoEYKqoI">https://t.co/7IkoEYKqoI</a> <a href="https://t.co/jYWwgDwXzt">pic.twitter.com/jYWwgDwXzt</a>
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) <a href="https://twitter.com/WCVB/status/1552591081233154049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
One of the fishers on the boat recounted the incident online. &#8220;While fishing for Striped Bass in Cape Cod Bay &#8230; enjoying an awesome time fishing we saw and heard the screams of excitement from boaters nearby seeing a whale or whales surfacing in the area, all [were] hundreds of yards away from us all morning,&#8221; fisher Ted Gardziel shared in a post on the website <a href="https://viralhog.com/v?t=9zsacc8khb&amp;&amp;page=1">ViralHog</a>.
Gardziel said that they had seen a whale a few minutes earlier, but it was over 300 yards away. He said he was holding his phone and recording at the time when the whale collided with the boat.
&#8220;We&#8217;re all &#8230; very lucky, no injuries, minor damage to the boat and we powered back to the marina on our own,&#8221; Gardziel added. &#8220;We all felt bad for the whale, wrong place at the wrong time for all of us. We all got bumped around but went on to live another day. Amazing that an animal that large was in such shallow water (30&#8242;) so close to shore breech feeding on Menhaden.&#8221;
Witnesses also posted photos and videos of the incident to Facebook. One video posted by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jodi.enggasser/posts/10162906351611509">witness</a> shows the whale in mid-breach, smashing head first into the boat, sending the stern of the boat high into the air, before sliding off the bow and back into the water, while the boat tosses in the wake of the crash. Photos shared by the witness showed the bow railing badly damaged and one of the boaters inspecting the boat and himself for injuries.
The witness, Justin Enggasser, told the <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/25/metro/i-think-everyone-was-shocked-father-son-capture-video-whale-hitting-boat-plymouth/">Boston Globe</a> that he and his son were fishing for striped bass, and were chasing schools of Menhaden, a baitfish which attracts both striped bass and humpback whales. “We saw the bait fish start jumping in front of the boat,&#8221; he said. “My son had been sort of taking video of it while I was fishing. [He] just happened to be able to get it at the right time.”
Enggasser said there was no way to predict that the whale would hit the boat. “The whale, I think previously, breached fairly distant from that boat. I don’t think there was any way that guy could have known that whale was coming up right there.” The whale rolled off the boat, but fortunately surfaced again shortly afterward, Enggasser added.
The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/100070961930092/posts/pfbid0c4UiaYa7W1VoV956P4EhKcQehxBpQKewHGt4bv3TzebP6M9AqYu7wNKo39MCz5p5l/?d=n">Massachusetts Environmental Police</a> urged boaters to use caution in the wake of the incident, noting that a group of three juvenile whales had been feeding in the area recently.
&#8220;These young whales are engaged in physically active feeding behavior that is very unpredictable, while feeding in a shallow area on menhaden (or &#8216;pogies&#8217;), a rich and highly abundant schooling forage fish that also attracts striped bass,&#8221; police said. &#8220;A collision with a vessel or personal watercraft can cause damage to the vessel, physical injury to the whale, and potential serious injury or death to humans involved. The shallow water and presence of encroaching vessels, along with the young age of the animals, may increase the unpredictability of their behavior.&#8221;