March 14, 2025 • 8 mins
False killer whale strandings in Tasmania are rare; however, on February 20, 2025, approximately 157 whales stranded and passed away, with at least 99 being euthanized after multiple attempts to float them back into the ocean failed.
In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, I dive into the tragic stranding of 157 false killer whales on Tasmania’s northwest coast in February 2025. Despite the heroic efforts of rescuers, the event ended with the euthanasia of the remaining survivors. We’ll explore the possible causes behind this heartbreaking event, what it reveals about marine ecosystems, and how we can better protect aquatic life in the future.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:00:00):
A tragic event occurred on
February 20th, 2025 in Tasmania,
where 157 false
killer whales were stranded
on Tasmania's
Northwest coast that concluded
with the euthanasia of
the remaining survivors.
We're gonna talk about
some of the possibilities
of what could have happened
and why a lot of these animals
ended up dying on this episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
Let's start the show.
(01:00:22):
Hey everybody, welcome
back to this somber episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.
This is the podcast where you find out
what's happening with the ocean,
how you can speak up for the ocean and
what you can do to live for a better
ocean by taking action.
Today is not a good day in terms of
talking about these false
killer whale strandings.
You know, this is
something that happens at sea.
A lot of the times we don't know why they
(01:00:43):
stranded, including this case.
There are going to be a series of
necropses on the animals that have died
to give us some clues of why these
animals may have stranded.
But first, let's just talk about what a
false killer whale is.
It is a type of large dolphin that
growing about 6.1 meters up to 20 feet
long and weighing up to
1300 kilograms or 3000 pounds.
(01:01:05):
They are highly social animals often
found in large pods, which may contribute
to some mass stranding events.
Now, the last event of mass stranding of
false killer whales
happened over 74 years ago.
That's a long time.
And that is something that
you have to take into account.
This doesn't happen with
these species all the time.
It does happen to pilot
whales in the area quite often.
(01:01:27):
I usually see that once every couple of
years, sometimes every year.
And so this is something that is a
concern in Tasmania is known to have some
strandings, but it's been a long time
since we've seen the strandings of these
false killer whales.
So approximately 157 false killer whales
were found stranded near Arthur River on
Tasmania's northwest coast.
And the stranding site is remote and also
(01:01:47):
difficult to access
complicating the rescue effort.
So what happens when you see a stranding,
somebody spots the stranding now could be
part of a stranding network or they could
have a stranding network set up where
along the beaches, they may have numbers.
If you see a stranded whale or a number
of stranded whales or dolphins or any
kind of marine
mammal, please let us know.
Like I remember in the UK, I did it a
while ago, the British Marine Divers
(01:02:08):
Rescue Association, they would have a
series of networks
along the coast of the UK.
And they would have signs, they would
have people that would regularly patrol
the areas as well as they would act if
there's representatives in certain remote
areas and somebody finds a stranding,
then they would go and act and they would
put in all their protocols.
Same thing, I assume happens in Tasmania.
(01:02:28):
And so when that happens, rescue
volunteers are basically dispatched to
that specific area and then they try and
put the animals back out to sea.
What happens in a stranding and it's
never really known why, but a lot of
times because a lot of marine mammals
that travel in pods are social, when you
get one, like say the leading animal or
the head of the pod or the leader of the
(01:02:49):
pod, if they get sick or they lose their
navigational focus because they're not
feeling well, they can strand.
And because they're stranding, the social
bonds are so close, the rest
of the pod strands with it.
And so a lot of the times you'll see a
number of animals come to shore.
In this case, it was 157 because maybe
the leader of the pod was just sick and
lost its navigational route.
(01:03:11):
Sometimes it could be because of noise
that's happening outside in the ocean,
outside of a bay or
wherever they're coming into.
And so they come in to get out of that
area of noise or it could
be like bad water quality.
It could be that
there's predators around.
So they try and get away from it and they
end up stranding themselves.
This is never done on purpose.
And because of their strong social bonds,
(01:03:31):
you see others that will follow this
leader or a section that will follow this
leader, which makes it
really, really difficult.
So that is something that is hard.
Now where they stranded right in this
area, Arthur River in Tasmania's
Northwest coast is remote and it's very
difficult to get to.
So that really limits the amount of
people that can get to the area and that
can hinder rescue efforts
(01:03:52):
to get them back out at sea.
Now efforts were made to transport and
release some of the whales, but they were
unsuccessful as they repeatedly stranded.
So some of the efforts were like, Hey,
let's just take them out.
We have these specific tools.
You can't lift the animals.
So you got to use the water to kind of
float them back out.
They float them in the deeper water for a
little bit to see if
they can actually get out.
But a lot of them would
just restran themselves.
(01:04:14):
Now, whether they were sick or whether
they just restranded because the rest of
their pod was there and they were just
trying to stay in the
area and they got brought in.
Apparently the area was rough.
Like they had rough seas when they're
trying to do this rescue further
complicating the rescue efforts.
So they would keep restraining.
And so they had to euthanize a number of
the animals because
they just kept restrained.
They were just going to suffer and they
(01:04:35):
were going to end up dying.
So the decision to euthanize due to the
deteriorating condition of the whales and
the impracticality of successful rescue
authorities decided to euthanize the
remaining 90 survivors.
So basically 157 animals died that time.
The euthanasia process involved trained
staff using firearms
with specialist ammunition.
(01:04:55):
So it's obviously not just when you put
your dog down or you put your cat down.
God forbid you ever have to do that.
But if you ever do that,
it's a pretty simple process.
It's usually an injection of a specific
chemical that basically kills the dog or
the pet pretty quickly.
And it's painless for the animals.
So this one obviously not painless in a
way, but it's the best way to do it.
It may seem brutal, but it's the best way
(01:05:17):
to get to the quickest death that they
have been able to find.
So this, you know, obviously not
something that's good, but it happens.
It's just the way, unfortunately, it goes
in these situations when you're out on a
shore that's remote.
You can't get doctors
all the time to the area.
And so this is the
way they get euthanized.
Not a fun process, but
it definitely happens.
Right.
So obviously the exact causes remain
(01:05:38):
unclear, but obviously factors like
social bonds and navigational errors are
being considered because that's what
happens to a lot of the wildlife.
The pilot whales around Tasmania and New
Zealand happens as well.
And so it happens everywhere really.
And this is part of the world.
That's where they tend to happen.
Some of these stories that we've covered
in the past, obviously something you
don't want to see every day or any day,
because you almost feel like it's a waste
of some of the healthy ones.
(01:05:59):
You would think that if an animal from
the pod that is sick, I can understand
them going off on their own, but because
they have such strong bonds, they just
tend to follow each other.
That could be a problem in the future.
Right.
So the disposal of the carcasses is
something I never really
heard, but the story covered it.
They have to pay attention to
environmental and cultural
sensitivities in the area.
So they are figuring out
what's going to happen.
(01:06:19):
I don't know exactly how
they dispose of the carcasses.
They bring it out to see if there's a
ceremony for maybe some local indigenous
groups in that area that have maybe a
stronger cultural connection to the false
killer whales or to the pod or in
general, a lot of the indigenous groups I
know in Canada, in the US and around the
world will have certain cultural ties to
(01:06:40):
marine mammals and just
the environment in general.
So they tend to have
ceremonies around that.
So I hope that happens in a way because
that they can get their proper send off
and the local indigenous communities can
do what they do best, right?
And take care of the ocean, whether it be
through death or rather be through life.
And I think that's
something that's very important.
And I think it should
be happened for a while.
It's only happened, you know, 50 years
(01:07:02):
ago to 74 years ago.
So it's nice that it doesn't happen often
with this type of animal, but this is
something that, you know, we
have to consider happening.
And the best way to really get over is to
try and get to rescue efforts quicker.
Obviously, in this situation, it was
difficult to get to because
it was such a remote area.
The conditions weren't great.
Sometimes the conditions are better.
Maybe that'll make it easier to get the
(01:07:23):
animals back out at sea.
But in this case, it just wasn't
happening because of the rough seas.
Unfortunately, it was
just bad, bad luck, I guess.
Or maybe that's why they came in with
some of the rougher seas.
I don't really know if I do find out.
I'll let you know.
But that's the story for today.
It's a quick one.
It's a sad one.
We have to cover what happens so that you
know how these things are dealt with in
the future and how we
(01:07:43):
can maybe make it better.
Hopefully, we get the right
conditions for it to happen.
So I just wanted to let you know of this
story because you have to
be aware of these situations.
And I'd love to hear your comments down
below what you think of the situation,
how you can do better.
If you've ever been part of a stranding
network, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And then, of course, if you want to share
them with me personally, you can do so at
DME at How to Protect the Ocean.
(01:08:04):
You can leave your comments down below.
And of course, don't forget to subscribe
to our YouTube channel.
Hit that notification bell so you don't
miss any of the episodes that we post
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
And of course, we are on Spotify, Apple
Podcast, as well as
your favorite podcast app.
I want to thank you so much for joining
me on today's episode of the How to
Protect the Ocean podcast.
I am your host, Andrew Lewin from the
True North Strong and Free.
(01:08:24):
Have a great day.
We'll talk to you next
time and happy conservation.
A tragic event occurred on
February 20th, 2025 in Tasmania,
where 157 false
killer whales were stranded
on Tasmania's
Northwest coast that concluded
with the euthanasia of
the remaining survivors.
We're gonna talk about
some of the possibilities
of what could have happened
and why a lot of these animals
ended up dying on this episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
Let's start the show.
(01:00:22):
Hey everybody, welcome
back to this somber episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean podcast.
I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.
This is the podcast where you find out
what's happening with the ocean,
how you can speak up for the ocean and
what you can do to live for a better
ocean by taking action.
Today is not a good day in terms of
talking about these false
killer whale strandings.
You know, this is
something that happens at sea.
A lot of the times we don't know why they
(01:00:43):
stranded, including this case.
There are going to be a series of
necropses on the animals that have died
to give us some clues of why these
animals may have stranded.
But first, let's just talk about what a
false killer whale is.
It is a type of large dolphin that
growing about 6.1 meters up to 20 feet
long and weighing up to
1300 kilograms or 3000 pounds.
(01:01:05):
They are highly social animals often
found in large pods, which may contribute
to some mass stranding events.
Now, the last event of mass stranding of
false killer whales
happened over 74 years ago.
That's a long time.
And that is something that
you have to take into account.
This doesn't happen with
these species all the time.
It does happen to pilot
whales in the area quite often.
(01:01:27):
I usually see that once every couple of
years, sometimes every year.
And so this is something that is a
concern in Tasmania is known to have some
strandings, but it's been a long time
since we've seen the strandings of these
false killer whales.
So approximately 157 false killer whales
were found stranded near Arthur River on
Tasmania's northwest coast.
And the stranding site is remote and also
(01:01:47):
difficult to access
complicating the rescue effort.
So what happens when you see a stranding,
somebody spots the stranding now could be
part of a stranding network or they could
have a stranding network set up where
along the beaches, they may have numbers.
If you see a stranded whale or a number
of stranded whales or dolphins or any
kind of marine
mammal, please let us know.
Like I remember in the UK, I did it a
while ago, the British Marine Divers
(01:02:08):
Rescue Association, they would have a
series of networks
along the coast of the UK.
And they would have signs, they would
have people that would regularly patrol
the areas as well as they would act if
there's representatives in certain remote
areas and somebody finds a stranding,
then they would go and act and they would
put in all their protocols.
Same thing, I assume happens in Tasmania.
(01:02:28):
And so when that happens, rescue
volunteers are basically dispatched to
that specific area and then they try and
put the animals back out to sea.
What happens in a stranding and it's
never really known why, but a lot of
times because a lot of marine mammals
that travel in pods are social, when you
get one, like say the leading animal or
the head of the pod or the leader of the
(01:02:49):
pod, if they get sick or they lose their
navigational focus because they're not
feeling well, they can strand.
And because they're stranding, the social
bonds are so close, the rest
of the pod strands with it.
And so a lot of the times you'll see a
number of animals come to shore.
In this case, it was 157 because maybe
the leader of the pod was just sick and
lost its navigational route.
(01:03:11):
Sometimes it could be because of noise
that's happening outside in the ocean,
outside of a bay or
wherever they're coming into.
And so they come in to get out of that
area of noise or it could
be like bad water quality.
It could be that
there's predators around.
So they try and get away from it and they
end up stranding themselves.
This is never done on purpose.
And because of their strong social bonds,
(01:03:31):
you see others that will follow this
leader or a section that will follow this
leader, which makes it
really, really difficult.
So that is something that is hard.
Now where they stranded right in this
area, Arthur River in Tasmania's
Northwest coast is remote and it's very
difficult to get to.
So that really limits the amount of
people that can get to the area and that
can hinder rescue efforts
(01:03:52):
to get them back out at sea.
Now efforts were made to transport and
release some of the whales, but they were
unsuccessful as they repeatedly stranded.
So some of the efforts were like, Hey,
let's just take them out.
We have these specific tools.
You can't lift the animals.
So you got to use the water to kind of
float them back out.
They float them in the deeper water for a
little bit to see if
they can actually get out.
But a lot of them would
just restran themselves.
(01:04:14):
Now, whether they were sick or whether
they just restranded because the rest of
their pod was there and they were just
trying to stay in the
area and they got brought in.
Apparently the area was rough.
Like they had rough seas when they're
trying to do this rescue further
complicating the rescue efforts.
So they would keep restraining.
And so they had to euthanize a number of
the animals because
they just kept restrained.
They were just going to suffer and they
(01:04:35):
were going to end up dying.
So the decision to euthanize due to the
deteriorating condition of the whales and
the impracticality of successful rescue
authorities decided to euthanize the
remaining 90 survivors.
So basically 157 animals died that time.
The euthanasia process involved trained
staff using firearms
with specialist ammunition.
(01:04:55):
So it's obviously not just when you put
your dog down or you put your cat down.
God forbid you ever have to do that.
But if you ever do that,
it's a pretty simple process.
It's usually an injection of a specific
chemical that basically kills the dog or
the pet pretty quickly.
And it's painless for the animals.
So this one obviously not painless in a
way, but it's the best way to do it.
It may seem brutal, but it's the best way
(01:05:17):
to get to the quickest death that they
have been able to find.
So this, you know, obviously not
something that's good, but it happens.
It's just the way, unfortunately, it goes
in these situations when you're out on a
shore that's remote.
You can't get doctors
all the time to the area.
And so this is the
way they get euthanized.
Not a fun process, but
it definitely happens.
Right.
So obviously the exact causes remain
(01:05:38):
unclear, but obviously factors like
social bonds and navigational errors are
being considered because that's what
happens to a lot of the wildlife.
The pilot whales around Tasmania and New
Zealand happens as well.
And so it happens everywhere really.
And this is part of the world.
That's where they tend to happen.
Some of these stories that we've covered
in the past, obviously something you
don't want to see every day or any day,
because you almost feel like it's a waste
of some of the healthy ones.
(01:05:59):
You would think that if an animal from
the pod that is sick, I can understand
them going off on their own, but because
they have such strong bonds, they just
tend to follow each other.
That could be a problem in the future.
Right.
So the disposal of the carcasses is
something I never really
heard, but the story covered it.
They have to pay attention to
environmental and cultural
sensitivities in the area.
So they are figuring out
what's going to happen.
(01:06:19):
I don't know exactly how
they dispose of the carcasses.
They bring it out to see if there's a
ceremony for maybe some local indigenous
groups in that area that have maybe a
stronger cultural connection to the false
killer whales or to the pod or in
general, a lot of the indigenous groups I
know in Canada, in the US and around the
world will have certain cultural ties to
(01:06:40):
marine mammals and just
the environment in general.
So they tend to have
ceremonies around that.
So I hope that happens in a way because
that they can get their proper send off
and the local indigenous communities can
do what they do best, right?
And take care of the ocean, whether it be
through death or rather be through life.
And I think that's
something that's very important.
And I think it should
be happened for a while.
It's only happened, you know, 50 years
(01:07:02):
ago to 74 years ago.
So it's nice that it doesn't happen often
with this type of animal, but this is
something that, you know, we
have to consider happening.
And the best way to really get over is to
try and get to rescue efforts quicker.
Obviously, in this situation, it was
difficult to get to because
it was such a remote area.
The conditions weren't great.
Sometimes the conditions are better.
Maybe that'll make it easier to get the
(01:07:23):
animals back out at sea.
But in this case, it just wasn't
happening because of the rough seas.
Unfortunately, it was
just bad, bad luck, I guess.
Or maybe that's why they came in with
some of the rougher seas.
I don't really know if I do find out.
I'll let you know.
But that's the story for today.
It's a quick one.
It's a sad one.
We have to cover what happens so that you
know how these things are dealt with in
the future and how we
(01:07:43):
can maybe make it better.
Hopefully, we get the right
conditions for it to happen.
So I just wanted to let you know of this
story because you have to
be aware of these situations.
And I'd love to hear your comments down
below what you think of the situation,
how you can do better.
If you've ever been part of a stranding
network, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And then, of course, if you want to share
them with me personally, you can do so at
DME at How to Protect the Ocean.
(01:08:04):
You can leave your comments down below.
And of course, don't forget to subscribe
to our YouTube channel.
Hit that notification bell so you don't
miss any of the episodes that we post
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
And of course, we are on Spotify, Apple
Podcast, as well as
your favorite podcast app.
I want to thank you so much for joining
me on today's episode of the How to
Protect the Ocean podcast.
I am your host, Andrew Lewin from the
True North Strong and Free.
(01:08:24):
Have a great day.
We'll talk to you next
time and happy conservation.
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