Beaked whales strand in New Zealand

2026, October 9. New Zealand, Otago, Dunedin beaches, Smaills and Tomahawk beaches. Two deceased juvenile Gray’s beaked whales were found on adjoining beaches. A 3m-long whale was found on Smaills Beach, while another slightly smaller whale was located on Tomahawk Beach. The locations are a little over a kilometre apart. Department of Conservation (DOC) staff and local mana whenua coordinated on-site to handle necropsy/burial details.

Notes: Regional Acoustic Migration & The Dunedin Strandings.

While a Marine Animal Disturbance Alert (MAD) was recently issued for the Chatham Islands/East Coast of New Zealand region following a detected bolide entry, I do not attribute the latest Dunedin beaked whale strandings directly to that specific event. My disturbance alerts are designed to cover extended, multi-month windows following significant high-altitude airbursts. This temporal scope is necessary because single events rarely exist in isolation; instead, they are part of broader regional atmospheric and acoustic patterns. Over the past three months, we have observed a progressive southward shift in acoustic disturbance activity, travelling from the tropical Pacific down into northern New Zealand waters, and now pressing further into southern latitudes. This disruption is causing mass cetacean strandings, for example, the 20 cachalots (sperm whales) west of New Caledonia. 

Many of these atmospheric entries generate powerful low-frequency sonic booms that go undetected by ground observation, requiring high-altitude satellite data that often takes weeks to become accessible (a recent example being the September 23 Tasman Sea airburst). The juvenile Gray's beaked whales found near Dunedin were likely exposed to this ongoing regional acoustic pulse, driving deep-diving species out of offshore slope habitats into shallow coastal shelf waters. As this Southern Hemisphere influx continues, additional unrecorded airbursts in the South Pacific or Southern Ocean remain highly probable through the end of the year. Under these current atmospheric conditions, further strandings across vulnerable southern coastlines are not just possible—they are anticipated.

Photo: Gerard O'Brien  

Atmospheric Shockwaves & Coastal Traps: Re-evaluating the 2009 Southern Hemisphere Cetacean Disruption Corridor

The year 2009 stands out as an extraordinary period of oceanic and atmospheric activity across the Southern Hemisphere. When we map global high-energy bolide airbursts against regional cetacean mass stranding events, a spatial-temporal pattern emerges: energetic meteor impacts delivering low-frequency pressure acoustic waves directly into key marine corridors, closely aligned with severe disorientation and mortality events among deep-diving odontocetes and baleen whales.

The Atmospheric Drivers: 2009 Energetic Bolide Logs

Throughout 2009, satellite arrays and the International Monitoring System (IMS) recorded several energetic airbursts over the Southern Indian Ocean, the Antarctic shelf, and the Indo-Pacific.

• January 10, 2009 (07:42 UTC) — Antarctic Ice Shelf: A high-altitude airburst occurred at -64.0S, 122.8E at an altitude of 26.5 km and entry velocity of 23.7 km/s, radiating an optical energy of e = 2.3 x 10^11 Joules (approx 82 t TNT equivalent yield).

• January 19–20, 2009 — The "Southern Corridor" Infrasound Event: IMS infrasound stations (including IS07 in Western Australia and IS36 in New Zealand) triangulated an energetic low-frequency acoustic signature originating over the Southern Indian Ocean. The pulse propagated through atmospheric and oceanic channels across thousands of kilometers.

• April 10, 2009 (18:42 UTC) — Sub-Antarctic South Africa: A large airburst detonated at -44.7S, 25.7E (south of South Africa) at an altitude of 32.4km with an entry velocity of 19.1km/s. Radiating an optical energy of e = 2.7 x 10^12 J, the kinetic impact yield was equivalent to 730,000 kg (730 tons) of TNT.

• October 8, 2009 (02:57 UTC) — South Sulawesi Superbolide: A 5–10m asteroid entered at 22.09km/s (v_x=14, v_y=-16, v_z=-6) and detonated at 19.1km altitude over the Gulf of Bone (-4.2S, 120.6E). Yielding an explosive force of 31 to 50 kilotons of TNT, it generated long-period infrasound waves (13.4s period) detected worldwide. Luckily somewhat for marine life and unluckily for locals this bolide detonated over the Gulf of Boni and South Sulawesi land mass.

• November 25, 2009 — Southern Ocean Airburst: Detonating at -52.8S, 136.5E (southwest of Tasmania), this event released a localized blast force equivalent to 200,000 kg (200 tons) of TNT.

2009 Cetacean Stranding Timeline Across Australasia

Corresponding with these energetic atmospheric events, marine mammal networks documented high-density stranding clusters along the Australian, New Zealand, and Sub-Antarctic oceanic corridors.

2009 AIRBURST & STRANDING SYNCHRONIZATION

[JAN 10] Antarctic Airburst (-64°, 122.8°E) | 82 t TNT

[JAN 19-20] Southern Indian Ocean Infrasound Event

├──> [FEB 28] King Island, TAS: 206 Stranded (194 Pilot Whales, 12 Dolphins)

└──> [MAR 23] Hamelin Bay, WA: 87–92 Stranded (63 + 30 split groups)

[APR 10] Sub-Antarctic SA Airburst (-44.7°, 25.7°E) | 730 t TNT

└──> Sub-Antarctic / Indian Ocean Acoustic Wave Propagation

[MAY] South Africa, Kommetjie Beach. A mass whale stranding of 55 false killer whales

[AUG] Parengareng Harbour, NZ: 82 Long-finned Pilot Whales Stranded

[AUG 16] Cape York, QLD: Single Short-finned Pilot Whale

[OCT 8] Sulawesi Superbolide (-4.2°, 120.6°E) | 31–50 kt TNT

[OCT–NOV] Western Australia UME: 46 Humpback Whale Mortalities

[NOV 21-22] Marion Bay, TAS: 60 Long-finned Pilot Whales Stranded

[NOV 25] Southern Ocean Bolide (-52.8°, 136.5°E) | 200 t TNT

[DEC 20] Farewell Spit, NZ: 45–50 Pilot Whales Stranded

[DEC 26-27] Colville Bay, NZ: 105–125 Pilot Whales Stranded

Detailed Breakdown of Mass Strandings

1. February 28, 2009 — Naracoopa Beach, King Island (Tasmania): A mass stranding of 206 cetaceans (194 Black Dolphins/Pilot Whales and 12 Bottlenose Dolphins). Rescuers refloated 48 pilot whales and 5 dolphins, but 150 animals perished.

2. March 23, 2009 — Hamelin Bay (Western Australia): A pod of 87 to 92 cetaceans stranded across two main concentrations along a 5km stretch of coast (63 in one spot, 30+ located 2\ km away).

3. July to November 2009 — Western Australian Coastline UME: An Unusual Mortality Event claimed 46 Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), primarily emaciated sub-adults and calves along the migration corridor.

4. August 2009 — Parengareng Harbour (Far North, New Zealand): Over 82 Long-finned Pilot Whales stranded deep within remote mangrove mudflats near Cape Reinga, resulting in near-total mortality due to extreme environmental conditions.

5. August 16, 2009 — Umagico Beach, Cape York (Queensland): A single 3–4m Short-finned Pilot Whale stranded in shallow coastal waters.

6. November 21–22, 2009 — Marion Bay (Southeast Tasmania): 60 Long-finned Pilot Whales came ashore across the bay; despite community intervention, roughly 50 animals succumbed.

7. December 20, 2009 — Farewell Spit (Golden Bay, New Zealand): 45 to 50 Pilot Whales stranded at the base of the sand spit, resulting in roughly 25 deaths.

8. December 26–27, 2009 — Colville Bay (Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand): 105 to 125 Long-finned Pilot Whales beached in dual locations within 7 days of the Farewell Spit event. Rescuers successfully refloated 42–45 survivors on high tide.

The Hydroacoustic Connection: SOFAR Ducting & Acoustic Trauma

The spatial distribution of the 2009 events supports the hypothesis that large atmospheric bolides couple kinetic energy into the upper ocean as acoustic-gravity waves.

Bolide Fragmentation / Airburst

▼ (Low-Frequency Infrasound < 20 Hz)

~~~~~~~~ Surface Ocean Layer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

▼ (Acoustic-Gravity Wave Coupling)

════════ SOFAR Channel Core (600m - 1200m depth) ═══════════════════════

───► ───► ───► Low-Loss Propagation Across 1000s of km ───► ───►

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

▼ (Shelf Shoaling & Shallow Water Trapping)

[ Coastal Shelf Blindspots ]

▼

Disorientation / Mass Stranding Events 

1. SOFAR Channel Waveguiding: High-latitude airbursts—such as the Jan 10 Antarctic event, the Apr 10 Sub-Antarctic event (-44.7°, 25.7°E), and the Nov 25 Southern Ocean bolide (-52.8°, 136.5°E)—occur near regions where the Sound Fixing and Ranging (SOFAR) channel shoals toward the surface. Low-frequency infrasound (<20 Hz) enters this low-loss acoustic waveguide and travels thousands of kilometers across the Southern Ocean toward Australasian landmasses.

2. Geomagnetic & Passive Auditory Disruption: Deep-diving species like Long-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) rely on low-frequency passive hearing and geomagnetic alignment for navigating open-ocean basins. Sudden, high-amplitude acoustic shockwaves propagating through the duct can trigger panic responses, driving pods upward or forcing them into coastal shelf shallow waters.

3. Topographic Coastal Traps: Shallow sand spits (Farewell Spit), enclosed channels (Bass Strait/King Island), and muddy mangrove estuaries (Parengareng Harbour) trap acoustic echoes. Once disoriented pods move inside these shallow regions, their biosonar returns minimal usable spatial data, leading to severe beaching clusters.

The 2009 event timeline illustrates how large atmospheric airbursts and sub-polar meteor entries can act as significant acoustic disturbance triggers across Southern Ocean marine ecosystems. The following year the airbursts and mass whale strandings continued.

Fireballs and Strandings May 6 to 11, updated 20250513

2025, May 6. New South Wales, Port Macquarie, Miners Beach. Deceased melon-headed whale calf.

2025, May 8. USA, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, near Great Island, a gated community in Yarmouth. A female fin whale, around 65 feet long washed ashore.

2025, May 9. Queensland, Townsville, Rockpool. A rough-toothed dolphin that stranded itself was euthanised due to poor condition, the DETSI confirmed.

2025, May 9. Taiwan, over the Pacific Ocean off Taitung. Large Fireball. Time; around 11:47 p.m. It was visible from Nantian Village in the south of the county to Changbin Township in the north, a distance of over 170 kilometers.

2025, May 10. Philippines, Bohol, Poblacion, White Sands Resort. Dead dolphin.

2025, May 10. Ireland, Cross Strand, Templenoe. Dead dolphin.

2025, May 11. Western Australia, Central Wheatbelt. Mothers Day Fireball. Time: 5:57 am. Travelling north to the south. Duration: 10 sec. Color: green, orange glow. It was seen in locations over 560 km apart including Gingin, Scarborough, Mt Magnet, Mandurah, Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie. 

2025, May 11. Canada, B.C, near Skidegate on Haida Gwaii. A second deceased grey whale has washed ashore on a beach, less than a week after one was found at Long Beach on Vancouver Island. It measured about 12 metres long.  

B.C Gray Whale

This Bold Park Minke whale is an old carcass washed ashore on January 16.

Right Whales close to shore on two continents

North Atlantic Right Whales appear, and North Pacific Right Whales appear to be mirroring each other's movements. Just because whales are close to shore doesn't necessarily mean a manmade problem lurks behind the scenes. In Japan, it's natural, and on the east coast of the USA it is also natural. 

Watch North Pacific Right Whales, 北太平洋セミクジラ, off the coast of Japan, 日本 (Nihon).

迷い込んだ？高知市の海に体長１５メートルほどの“ザトウクジラ”　専門家「弱っている個体ではないので自然に任せて」

Gray whale stranding in Mexico

2025, April 5. Mexico, Costa Baja, La Paz Bay. A dead Gray whale in an advanced state of decomposition has washed ashore. 

This is a crucial issue in Mexico, hence the post. I will place a weekly update on further cetacean strandings later.

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.

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.  

Cetacean strandings in one country but two oceans at the same time

2024, May 31. Costa Rica. A striped dolphin was stranded on a Tambor beach in Puntarenas (Pacific), while a pygmy killer whale was found in Tortuguero National Park (Caribbean Sea, Atlantic). This could be a coincidence, or a single event has happened to instigate agitation in the mammals. 

Dolphins stranded for the first time in both oceans of Costa Rica - Prensa Latina (plenglish.com)

Good news for Gray whales in the North Pacific

"Unusual Mortality Event" declared over. 700 gray whales deaths were recorded off the coast from Mexico to Canada between 2019 and 2023. In a worrisome few years for the North Pacific gray whale population, hundreds washed up dead on shorelines along the West Coast leading to an estimated 30% decline in their population. During the years of the Unusual Mortality Event, 347 Gray whales were stranded along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington; another 316 were reported in Mexico and 27 in Canada. The population numbers of the North Pacific Gray whale had declined during the Unusual Mortality Event, going from an estimated 20,500 whales in 2019 to 14,526 whales in 2023. Updated population numbers are expected to come out soon. Total calf production also declined, from around 950 calves counted in 2018 to an estimated 217 calves in 2022. In 2023, calf production increased slightly to 412 counted. Between 2018 to 2023 690 gray whales washed ashore from 2018 to 2023: 347 in the United States, 316 in Mexico and 27 in Canada.

Gray Whale

Below is a map of the North Pacific Meteor Airbursts from 2018 to 2022. One of these had the equivalent energy of 49 million kilograms of TNT. They ranged from the Arctic Circle to California.

NASA