Short-finned pilot whale found washed ashore near Bambalapitiya; cause unknown

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama   

A short-finned pilot whale was found washed ashore near the beach close to the Bambalapitiya Railway Station last night, but the cause of its arrival on the coast has not yet been revealed, Marine Scientist Dr. Asha de Vos said.   

She told the media that these whales typically live in the deep sea, and if one of their pod members becomes sick or disoriented, the pod tends to follow it out of the deep sea.   
“In this scenario, another five or six pod members followed the dead whale last night. Fortunately, the remaining family members managed to cross the reef, with only one whale failing to do so,” Dr. de Vos said.   

“There is a possibility of a mass stranding. These short-finned pilot whales often come ashore worldwide. However, the reasons for these kinds of deaths have not yet been identified. A large number of this species have been found dead in Australia and New Zealand,” she added.   

The short-finned pilot whale is known to be highly playful and social. It typically travels in pods of 10–30 members, usually family, but has also been observed moving in groups of several hundred. Like killer whales, it has a matrilineal social hierarchy, with an elder female leading the pod and a significant post-reproductive lifespan. It is polygynous, with females often outnumbering males 8:1 in a pod.   

An officer from NARA who visited the site said the cause of the whale’s death would be revealed after the postmortem examination.