Two sad and possibly related events have happened in Fife, Scotland and across the sea on a Florida beach. Pilot whales have beached themselves in both locations across the Atlantic nearly at the same time as local residents and wildlife agencies on both sides of the ocean scrambled to rescue the survivors. The Fife incident found 26 whales in shallow water and on the beach. 10 of the 20 foot long whales were led back out to sea and survived while 16 others could not be saved.

In Florida 21 short finned pilot whales beached themselves on Saturday September 1 of which at least 2 died as the rest of the pod was led back out to sea. It is not uncommon for whales and porpoises to beach themselves although the exact cause is not known. It is possible that the mammals become disoriented out to sea and seek shallow water to recover. To see more of this story go to

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/03/13632807-stranded-whales-rescued-after-dozens-beached-in-scotland?lite