Saving A Whale, Cetacean Stranding, Popoyo Beach, Tola Municipality, Rivas Department, Nicaragua

• Natural
Whales have beached throughout human history, so many strandings can be attributed to natural and environmental factors, such as rough weather, weakness due to old age or infection, difficulty giving birth, hunting too close to shore and navigation errors.
A single stranded animal can prompt an entire pod to respond to its distress signals and strand alongside it.
In 2004, scientists at the University of Tasmania linked whale strandings and weather, hypothesizing that when cool Antarctic waters rich in squid and fish flow north, whales follow their prey closer towards land. In some cases predators (such as killer whales) have been known to panic whales, herding them towards the shoreline.