EXPERTS are baffled by a five-fold increase in the number of stranded beaked whales on the west coast of Scotland.
A total of five Cuvier's Beaked Whales have washed up dead on the west coast in the past five weeks alone. In the previous three years only three of the whales were stranded in the same area.
Cuvier's Beaked Whales are the deepest-diving mammals on the planet - reaching depths of more than 9,800ft - and are rarely seen anywhere near the shore.
Four of the five strandings occurred during December with one on Tiree, one on Westpoint beach Kintyre and two from the Western Isles (Benbecula and South Uist). The fifth whale was discovered on Mull in the New Year.
Theories for the strandings include last month's "weather bomb" and the possibility of Royal Navy use of sonar.
However, Conor Ryan, sightings and strandings officer at Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, said: "I think the fact that the increase in strandings has been with beaked whales suggests that it's something at a species level, perhaps a disease or virus that's affecting them."
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