Rare whale strands and dies in Oman

2025, February 27. Oman, Al Jazir in Al Wusta Governorate, Arabian Sea. An Arabian Sea humpback whale dead. It is classed as a rare and endangered species.

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of Mexico and will not be referred to as any other name on this site. 

Airburst, daylight meteor and Strandings

2025, February 21. USA, Texas (location ?). Dead common dolphin.

2025, February 21. Indonesia, Bali, Badung. A dead humpback in an advanced state of decomposition washed ashore.

2025, February 22. UK, Cornwall, Par Beach. Dead common dolphin.

2025, February 22. Mexico, Baja California Sur, Bahia Almejas in the southern part of Bahia Magdalena in the Municipality of La Paz. Dead Gray whale.  

2025, February 22. Atlantic Ocean, 70 km west of Quinzau, Angola. Airburst. Coordintes: (6.9E, 12.1E). Energy: e = 3.5, -e = 0.12 or 120,000 kg/TNT.  

2025, February 22. Philippines, Davao City, Ana Wharf. Dead Cuvier’s beaked whale was found floating near Pier 1. Estimated to weigh around 700 kilograms, measuring 17.3 feet in length and 8.4 feet in width. Authorities are still determining the cause of death.

2025, February 22. China, Hac Sa Beach. A sub-adult male porpoise measuring 1.48 meters. The carcass was already decomposing.  

2025, February 22. China, Huangshan Mountain, 65 km west of coastal city of Wenzhou. Meteor Airburst. Coordinates: (28.1N, 120E). e = 5.5, -e = 0.18 or 180,000 km/TNT. Altitude: 56.7km. Velocity 15 km/sec. Important note: This is the 8th airburst this year compared to one this time last year. This is a major uptick in atmospheric activity, the most recorded in over 50 years. 

2025, February 23. USA, Texas, Aransas Pass. Dead dolphin.

2025, February 24. Malaysia, South China Sea, Pahang, Pantai Kampung Sungai Miang. A 10 meter long Bryde or fin whale in a state of advanced decomposition.   

2025, February 25. Mexico, Mazatlán. Dead whale shore. Species Humpback?

2025, February 25. Ireland, Ballydwan Beach. Dead dolphin.  

Mexico on 25th.

Seventh meteor airburst

Another Meteor Airburst in Africa region. This is the seventh airburst this year globally detected by NASA. Compared to last year it's 7:1.

Timeline of events.

2025, February 2. Namibia, Salambala Conservancy, 20 km south of Katima Mulilo. Airburst. Time: 16:30. Coordinates: (-17.7, 24.3). e = 4.0, -e = 0.13 or 130,000 kg/TNT.

2025, February 20. Namibia, south of Walvis Bay (Walvisbaai), Casita Roja, Hottentotsbaai Bay. A mass stranding of over 120 dusky dolphins. All died.

New event: 2025, February 22. Atlantic Ocean, 70 km west of Quinzau, Angola. Airburst. Coordintes: ( 6.9E, 12.1E). Energy: e = 3.5, -e = 0.12 or 120,000 kg/TNT.

Mass dolphin stranding in Namibia

2025, February 20. Namibia, south of Wafis Bay (Walvisbaai), Casita Roja, Hottentotsbaai Bay. A mass stranding of over 120 dusky dolphins. All died.

Global cetacean stranding last week

Note: I try my best to locate most strandings but sadly it is only a small fraction of the real number. 

2025, February 17. UK, Gwynedd, Porth Neigwl (Hell’s Mouth) on the Llŷn Peninsula. Dead dolphin in advanced state of decomposition.

2025, February 17. UK, Gwynedd, Porth Neigwl (Hell’s Mouth) on the Llŷn Peninsula. Dead adult whale possibly a minke or fin. In advanced state of decomposition.

2025, February 18. Venezuela Isla de Margarita, El Tirano. Two pygmy killer whales stranded. Both transported to Waterland Mundo Marino for rehabilitation. Both have liver issues, dehydration and parasitism.

2025, February 18. Ireland, Kinsale, Dock beach. Dead dolphin.

2025, February 19. UK. A Rissos dolphin calf was euthanised after being found on beach alive and alone.

2025, February 19. UK, Isle of Wight, Culiver Down Beach. Dead dolphin.

2025, February 20. Germany, Lower Saxony, Wadden Sea island of Minsener Oog, south-east of the island of Wangerooge. A humpback washed ashore dead. The remote island, which lies west of the mouth of the Jade and east of the island of Wangerooge, is around four kilometers from the mainland. At the beginning of 2016, 30 young sperm whales were stranded and died in the North Sea, two of them on Wangeroog beach.

2025, February 22. Greece, Kriti (Crete), Chania, Pachia Ammos. The discovery of three dead dolphins washed up on the shores.

Image: Citynewstv/dpa  

Mass stranding of cetaceans in Tasmania. 2025, February 19, Time:19:14.

Mass whale stranding of 157 false killer whales on a beach in Tasmania's far north-west. At the moment 90 are still alive. More to come. Update: 2025, February 19, Time:19:14. Tasmania, Arthur River. A mass stranding of 157 false killer whales stranded on a beach in Tasmania's far north-west and died. A total of ninety were alive when found and were euthanized.

Image: Jocelyn Flint

Image: NRE Tasmania

Huge uptick in global strandings

2025, February 15. India, Cavelossim South Goa. Dead dolphin.

2025, February 7. Tasmania, Tamar River at Rosevears, north of Launceston or 35 km from mouth of river. A minke whale described as bloated and starting to decay, with the noticeable smell described as being significantly foul. 

2025, February 8. South Australia, West Beach, between Ocean and Surf Avenue. A 3 meter long Pygmy Sperm whale. Species confimation to come.

2025, February 12. New Zealand, North Island, east coast, Hawkes Bay, Napier, Clive, Haumoana river mouth south side beach. A adult strap-toothed beaked whale and calf spotted close to shore. The adult beached and died.

2025, February 15. Western Australia, Geraldton, shallows towards Point Moore. Baby humpback washed ashore dead. 

2025, February 16. New Zealand, Wairarapa, Mataikona beach. A strapped tooth dolphin washed ashore dead in an advanced state of decomposition.

2025, February 17. New Zealand, North Island, East coast, Bland Bay Beach. Another Beaked whale washes ashore dead.  

2025, February 17. USA, Florida, Deerfield Beach, A total of three whales, two different species. Pilot whale and Pygmy cachalot (sperm whale). One is just north of the Zumba deck or the pavilion near trespass, the other is north of Tierra East. Report: 6 juvenile pilot whales tried to strand. I think it was a pod of Pygmy sperm whales.  

2025, February 17. Netherlands, north of the Dutch Frisian Islands. A dead cachalot (sperm whale) has been located at sea by the Netherlands Coast Guard.

2025, February 17. Philippines, Mindanao, San Isidro, Gingoog Bay. A mass stranding of Rissos dolphins (Confirmation on species to come). Many have died. The stranding appears to be stretched across 22 km of coast line.

Update on global cetacean strandings

2025, February 13. USA, Mississippi, Biloxi, in the area near Camille Street. A dead bottlenose dolphin was discovered on the Beach. So far there has been 12 strandings, with estimates there are about 50 strandings most seasons.

2025, February 11. Canada, Seen from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Fireball. Time: Approx 23:51UT.

2025, February 13. Philippines, Oriental Mindoro, Puerto Galera, Varadero Bay. Disoriented Dwarf Cachalot (Kogia sima) died after rescue attempts. The stranded whale was identified as a female, measuring 2.5 meters in length, with an estimated weight of 100 kilograms and a girth size of 1.45 meters.

2025, February 14. USA, Long Island, Amagansett, Albert's Landing Beach in Napeague State Park/Bay. Risso's Dolphin stranded and died. 300 centimeters long.

2025, February 14. Scotland, Kintyre peninsula, near the ferry terminal at Claonaig. Dead Humpback whale. Cause of death yet to be determined. Initial assessment of the whale showed it was a healthy animal with a lot of blubber, but had significant entanglement injuries. The wounds around the fluke are about 200ml deep and there’s evidence of rope cutting into its tail.  

2025, February 15. Denmark, North Sea, Sea off Hörnum, island of Sylt A male dead cachalot (sperm whale) dead. The carcass was towed by mussel fishermen to the port of Hörnum. The cetacean was up to 16 meters long and was in an advanced state of decomposition.

2025, February 16. Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea, on the coast of San Giovanni Suergiu, Punta Trettu. A juvenile minke whale was found lifeless on the beach.

Image: Fabio Murru 

The airburst and whale strandings in Mexico and countries to the south

If any mistakes or amendments, please let me know. 

2024, December 20. Pacific Ocean. Airburst. 204 km S.W off the coast of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Coordinates (14.3, -98.1). e = 154, -e = 3.4 or 3,400,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 32.6 km. Velocity: 21.1 km/sec.

2025, January (Date?). Mexico, Mazatláns Malecon. Dead humpback calf washed ashore and buried. It was 8 meters and 15 metric tons. Fishing entanglement.

2025, January 24. Mexico, Baja Californi Sur, Le Blanc Spa Resort, Los Cabos. Grey whale in trouble, outcome still unknown.

2025, January 27. Mexico, Armería, Colima, beach of Cuyutlán. Stranding of a cachalot (sperm whale, physeter macrocephalus), dead. The burial, the Protocol of Attention for Stranding of Marine Mammals was applied. A wound was found on the right posterior side.

2025, February 4. Mexico, Playa Palmarito Beach, Oaxaca, in the Bajos de Chila jurisdiction, within the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec. Dead whale. A 5-meter-long female calf, is estimated to be between three and five months old. The whale likely died early in the morning from natural causes.

2025, February 5. Mexico, Baja California, Ensenada. A total of 6 Sea lions and 2 dolphins washed up on the beach. Blamed on poisoning from domoic acid produced from harmful algae bloom.

2025, February 6. Mexico, Sayulita, in Bahía de Banderas, 25 km NW of Puerto Vallarta. A humpback whale calf measuring more than four meters in length was found dead.

2025, February 6? Mexico, Puerto Chale. Dead Gray whale.

2025, February 7. Guatemala. A 15-meter-long humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), weighing an estimated 25 to 40 tons, was found dead local authorities reported. The cetacean was discovered by locals on Hawaii Beach in the municipality of Chiquimulilla, located about 88 km south of Guatemala City.

2025, February 10. Mexico, Baja California Sur, La Paz. Young juvenile humpback whale washed ashore dead. The Stranding Network Contingency Care Marine Fauna are retrieving data and bones.

2025, February 11. Mexico, Baja California Sur, El Pescadero. Species: A humpback whale calf, 4.5 m long. No signs of predator attack, no anthropogenic activity.

2025, February 11. Mexico, Baja California Sur, Puerto Chale. Two more whales were discovered ashore.

Non Pacific Ocean.

2025, February 13. Mexico, Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz, municipality of Nautla, Maracaibo beach. A bearded whale, (Balaenoptera physalus). The specimen had no injuries. The 11-meter-long whale was buried in order to avoid health problems due to its decomposition.

Sixth meteor airburst this year and whale stranding in Nigeria

Sixth airburst this year. A 3:3 land/sea ratio and 6:1 compared to 2024.

2025, February 12. Greenland was 230km inland from Baffin Sea or in the SW quarter of the country. Airburst. Coordinates: (73.4N 49.3W). e = 4, -e = 0.13 or 130,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 42km. Velocity: 21.0 km/sec.

2025, February 12. Nigeria, Riverine in Nigeria Delta. Dead humpback washed ashore. Locals used the meat regardless of health warnings not to do so. It is common in Nigeria for communities to eat whale meat which supports families for many months.

Cetacean strandings and meteor fireballs in Florida year to date

 One of the crosses in the east is a mass fish die-off caused by algae bloom.

The devastation in New Zealand and Chatham Islands after a meteor airburst

2024, December 1. Pacific Ocean, east of New Zealand. Airburst. Coordinates: (-42.7, -172.4). Time: 08:50. e = 13. -e = 0.38 or 380,000 kg/TNT.  

2024, December 2. New Zealand, Golden Bay, Cook Strait. A total of 37 long-finned pilot whales were stranded at one location. 18 whales died and 19 refloated. Eventually after five days and the fifth time stranding the pod swam towards deeper waters.

2024, December 5. New Zealand, Tāwharanui Peninsula, Hauraki Gulf. Dead Humpback located floating in sea.

2024, December 6. New Zealand, North Island, Tauranga region. Dead Pygmy sperm whale. 

2024, December 31. New Zealand, Chatham Islands. Three different locations between Taia and Okawa. 11 Black Dolphins (pilot whales) were found on the beach.

2025, January 7. Chatham Islands, Waitangi beach. A total of 15 common dolphins stranded. With two individuals of unknown gender and age deceased.

2025, January 7. New Zealand, Farewell Spit in Golden Bay. A total of 10 Black Dolphins (pilot whales) strand.

2015, January 8. New Zealand, Farewell Spit. Five Black Dolphins (pilot whales) found dead. It is likely these deaths are from a previous stranding last month. There is optimism over eight refloated at Farewell Spit.

2025, January 14. New Zealand, north of Christchurch, Spencer Park Surf Life Saving Club. Two Gray’s beaked whales were found stranded and deceased.

2025, January 18? New Zealand, North Island, Ōtautū Bay in Coromandel. Beaked Whale washed up deceased.

2025, January 18. New Zealand, Golden Bay, Puponga Beach near Pakawau, near Taupata Stream. Between 34 short-finned Black Dolphins (pilot whales) stranded, 3 died, the rest refloated, then restranded at Tomatea Point on the 20th. They range in ages and sizes. It is the third mass stranding on New Zealand mainland in less than seven weeks.

2025, January 18. New Zealand, South Island, Christchurch’s New Brighton Beach. A juvenile Beaked Whale refloated struggling in shallow water returned to sea.

2025, January 20. New Zealand, Taupata Point. A total of 11 short-finned Black Dolphins (pilot whales) strand.

2025, January 28. New Zealand, Riverhead, Auckland. Beaked whale, however species confirmation is yet to be determined.

Dead whale in Tasmania 35 km from mouth

Comes nine days after: 2025, January 28. Bass Strait, East of Flinders Island. Fireball. Travelling north to South. Time: 9:52UT or 2025-01-28 20:59AEDT. Seen in locations in Tasmania and Victoria, over 390 km apart.  

American Meteor Society

Image / Stewart Malone via Facebook  

Dead minke whale washes up in Tamar River - Pulse Tasmania

The 2019 dolphin die-off in the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2019, more than 260 dolphins stranded themselves across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle from the beginning of February to June. This was approximately three-times higher than the historical average. In Mississippi alone, 126 dolphins died on the coastline. There was a line of meteor airbursts across the Caribbean during this period. It started on February 1 with a fireball that produced an airburst with equivalent energy to 1,400,000 kg/TNT. It was travelling south to north over Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico. On April 14 another airburst struck off the coast of Haiti with an energy of 100,000 kg/TNT. Then a third happened off the coast of Mississippi/Louisiana on May 4 with an energy equal to 79,000 kg/TNT. To cap it off on June 22, to bookend these incidents, a further massive airburst occurred in the Caribbean between Venezuela and Puerto Rico that had the energy of 6,000,000 kg of TNT. The four airbursts were almost in a straight line across the Gulf of Mexico. The cetacean strandings were blamed on rain.

Update of the 2008 Madagascar dolphin stranding

Updated Information.

2008, May and June. Loza Lagoon system of Northwest Madagascar. A mass stranding of around 100 Melon-Headed whales. Of the original whales that entered the lagoon system, seventy-five died from causes related to being out of their normal deep-sea habitat. The International Whaling Agency (IWC) and other federal agencies with the permission of the Madagascar Government launched an investigation into the cause of this mass stranding. The IWC concluded that the most plausible trigger for the event was a high power 12 kHz multi-beam echosounder system (MBES) that has been firing along a shelf break a day before the event.

My findings found that the cause of these whales stranding was the result of a large meteor airburst on 2007, January 17. Indian Ocean, North of Madagascar. With the equivalent blast of 1,400,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 33.3 km. These whales were skin on bone without blubber which takes a long time to manifest itself, not 24 hours. Recently, I have found additional information not shown to the committee investigating this incident. In Iran. On 20 September and 24 October 2007 two mass strandings occurred causing the deaths of 152 stripped dolphins. It was the first and last time this type of incident was documented in Iran, apart from a smaller group of 11 still under investigation in 2011.

The same sequence of events happened in the Atlantic during this period at Cape Verde Islands where sonar was blamed for two mass strandings where an airburst was the more likely scenario.

Mexico Marine Animal Alert still in effect

Seeing the continued strandings on the Mexican Pacific coastal line is concerning. The airburst on December 20 has done considerable damage. I'm surprised there has not been a mass stranding of cetaceans, however, sometimes it can take months for them to come ashore. In this situation involving the time of year, the location of the incident and cetaceans' behaviour after injury concerning their orientation towards turning right it could very well be sometime before coming ashore. The alert still stands for this incident.