Netherlands: Elusive beaked whales spotted close to beach; sparks concerns among experts

The sighting of rarely-seen beaked whales close to the beach in the Netherlands and some stranded in the span of a few days has become a talking point. 

As per the SOS Dolphin Foundation, on July 19, off the coast of the Netherlands, three beaked whales were spotted near the beach. The people present at the venue formed a human barricade to ward the whales away from the shore to protect it from getting stranded. 

Sharing the video on Facebook, The foundation wrote, "Despite the fact that the species is a deep-sea whale and does not have a particularly good chance in the North Sea, we hope that the animals will be able to leave the North Sea again".

Beaked whales sighted off the coast of the Netherlands

Beaked whales are a part of 24 species of rare, reclusive whales, as per a report by Newsweek. The mammals can attain the maximum height of 42 feet and are known among marine mammals for selectively diving deep for their prey. They can dive deep up to 9,000 feet and under water, they can hold their breath for close to four hours. 

According to Rob Deaville, the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) project manager at the Zoological Society of London, the shape of the North Sea is one of the factors behind the beaked whales washing up on the shore, though many such creatures die of factors like predation, plastic pollution and noise pollution. 

"In the North Sea, there is a long historical record of beaked whale strandings," Deaville told Newsweek. "This is primarily because of its shape: the waters off Norway and Scotland are very deep, getting shallower as you go south. If you were to design a whale trap for beaked whales, the North Sea would be perfect."

According to Deaville, a similar event happened in 2010 where a group of beaked whales was re-floated in the Netherlands, but they landed on the other side of the English Channel, on a Kent beach in the United Kingdom.

Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. 'Beaked whales' belong to a family of cetaceans and their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance make it the least-known group of mammals.