Mass dolphin stranding in Taiwan

2026, May 27. Taiwan, Penghu, near Shagang Village. Three pantropical spotted dolphins were found dead after spending an extended period in a local harbor.

Image: Penghu County Government

Also: 2026, May 24. Ireland, Co. Cork, Lispatrick Lower, Garrylucas beach. A young adult Minke Whale 4.7 meters long stranded and died. COD: Unknown.

2026, May 24. USA, Washington, Olympic National Park, Unk. Dead whale floating offshore.

2026, May 25. Philippine Sea, the coastal waters northeast of the Bicol Peninsula, east of the island of Tinaga. Fireball.  Time: 10:33 p.m. local time (10:33 a.m. EDT). Travelling SSE.

2026, May 27. USA, Western New York and Southern Ontario. Fireball. Time: 05:15 LT. Sonic Boom reported.

Imagery captured by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State

Mass whale stranding in Taiwan

2026, February 24. Taiwan, beach in Pingtung County’s Checheng Township. Eleven pygmy killer whales were found stranded Tuesday morning. Seven survived and four confirmed dead. The Coast Guard’s Coastal Patrol said 26 personnel and 11 vehicles were mobilized, including police and members of the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, National Cheng Kung University’s Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center, and the Pingtung County Government’s Agriculture Department.

Image: Coast Guard.

Two Beaked whales die in Taiwan and Argentina. Update: 20251223 Japan

2025, December 16. Argentina, at San Clemente del Tuyú. A beaked whale (Ziphiidae) stranded on the beach. Rescuers tried to refloat the animal however it was found lifeless the next morning. Preliminary necropsy results revealed pneumonia and a high gastrointestinal parasite load, likely causing its death. The stranded whale was a juvenile male, 4.32 meters long and weighing about one ton. Rescue was complicated by low visibility and the whale’s repeated circular swimming pattern, typical of cetaceans in poor health.

2025, December 17. Taiwan, Xiaoliuqiu. Shanfufu Fishing Harbor. Beaked whale, about 4 meters long at a depth of 12 meters underwater. The cause of death is currently unknown, but fishing gear entanglement is likely the cause. 

Update: 20251223. 2025, December 21. UK, Cornwall, Mount's Bay region, Marazion. Cuvier's beaked whale washed ashore in advanced state of decomposition. Muscle and skin samples were taken for genetic testing two teeth to go for Isotope examination.

2025, December 23. Indian Ocean, midway between Mauritius and Port Mathurin. Two Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) were reported dead on the 19th. Both were found dead at sea and imaged at the side of a fishing trawler. They were not caught in trailing gear, and COD is unknown. No injuries were observed externally. It came after a large 6m long Layard's beaked whale was observed the day before with the same observation outcome. Over two dozen beaked whales observed dead in 2025 so far in southern Indian Ocean.

2025, December 5. Japan, Hokkaido, Shihidaka. A 537.8cm female Hubbs’ beaked whale (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi). Photo: ©Muroran Department of Public Works Management Mombetsu Branch.

  

Argentina

Taiwan

Japan

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.

First ever recorded Fin whale stranding in Taiwan

2025, March 3. Taiwan, Guishan Island's northern coast. A Fin whale calf was found dead on a rocky shoreline. The 10.5-meter-long whale is the first recorded case of a complete fin whale beaching in the country. The stranding site was not accessed by authorities until March 27. 

Photo courtesy of Chang Hong-jie

Cetacean strandings since March 9

2025, March 9. Hong Kong, The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. A male Finless porpoise. Length: 87 cm.

2025, March 9. Taiwan, Kaohsiung’s Keziliao Harbor. A three-meter cachalot (sperm whale) calf was stranded on the beach and later died.

2025, March 10. Egypt, Blumar Resort near Zaafarana in the Gulf of Suez. Dead female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), measuring 210 cm in length.

2025, March 11. Ireland, Bannow's coast. Dead dolphin.

2025, March 12. UK, River Forth, Torryburn Bay. Dead dolphin.

2025, March 12. USA, Delaware, Sussex County, Conquest Road at Delaware Seashore State Park. A 35-foot, 14-ton humpback whale washed ashore dead.

2025, March 12. Indonesia, Aceh, Pulau Island, Angkeo Beach. A large dead whale.

2025, March 13. Timor-Leste, Liquica. Large dead cachalot (sperm whale). Was seen in a distressed state before floating motionless.

2025, March 13. South Korea, Socheongdo Island in Ongjin-gun, Incheon. A large minke whale was found dead in a net in the northern sea of the West Sea. The cetacean was 7.5-meter-long 4.1 meters wide and weighed about 3 tons. The whale was located 13 kilometres south of the island where North Korea conducts illegal fishing including harpooning of cetaceans.

2025, March 14. Vietnam, Thach Hai commune, in the central city of Ha Tinh. A 100-kg, 1.5-meter-long, pygmy sperm whale was discovered a couple of hours ago. Whale worship is a long-standing tradition among Vietnamese fishermen, who believe the creatures' spirits offer protection at sea. It is customary for them to rescue stranded whales whenever possible and to hold burial and worship ceremonies for those that perish, often at whale temples.

2025, March 14. Mexico, Baja California Sur, Cerritos North Beach. Dead common dolphin.

Mass stranding in Taiwan

2024, October 8. Taiwan, Taichung’s Daan Beach. A pod of four pygmy killer whales.

Image: Ocean Conservation Administration

Other Events: 2024, October 5. Southern Ocean / South Pacific, 1800km west of South America, Chile, Reserva Nacional Alacalufes. Airburst. Coordinates: (-55.9, -102). Time: 12:27. e = 2.7, -e = 0.095 or 95,000 kg/TNT. Altitude: 39.5km. Velocity: 13.1 km/s.

2024, October 8. Spain, shores of Galicia, specifically on Pampaido beach in Sanxenxo. Dead 15-metre whale (Fin?) and dolphins wash up on shores of Spain during brutal Storm Kirk. The animal was in a state of decomposition. Meanwhile, in Fisterra, A Coruña, two dead dolphins were found washed up on a beach on Wednesday morning.