Stranded in the Keys-Part II

So, as a follow up to the last post, out of 21 pilot whales that stranded in the Keys last week, only 2 were released and 5 more of those stranded pilot whales survived to have a chance in rehabilitation. 21 whales stranded in that one incident, and all I heard was a snippet on the radio and finally found this article, which provides little information.
http://www.local10.com/news/27838537/detail.html
I followed the trail to the Marine Mammal Conservancy, the organization conducting the whale rehab for these whales. This link will give you details about the stranding, the whales released, and what you can do to help - including getting trained to volunteer!
http://marinemammalconservancy.org/uncategorized/mass-stranding-volunteers-needed

Scotland feared a pilot whale pod with over 100 whales was going to strand, and now dead whales are washing ashore in Ireland, presumably from that same pod. The pod numbers are currently estimated at about 60 whales (at least 33 dead whales have already been spotted). The Guardian website in the U.K. seems to be keeping fairly current on this issue (unlike the coverage we get locally):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/23/fears-whales-beaching-ireland
Since the big questions is always "why" are they stranding, I was surprised to learn about the necropsy report on one of these whales - the lactating female had a diseased melon. The calf was not found (yet). Considering the melon is involved in everything from communication to echolocation, this could be a serious issue if the entire pod is having similar health problems. Not all functions of a toothed-whale or dolphin's melon are yet known.

On a lighter note, it is "World Turtle Day" - which has existing since 2000. Ironically, it is sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue. Check out http://www.tortoise.com/ for details.

Whether you move slowly or quickly, don't get shell-shocked and have a nice day!
-Callie