Sperm whales are quite smart, so why do they always get stranded?

Whale strandings are nothing new and occur almost every year around the world.

Not to mention the distant past, on April 19, 2022, a sperm whale was stranded in the Shipu waters of Xiangshan, Ningbo. Fortunately, after more than 20 hours of relay rescue, the whale finally returned to the sea safely. Think about it carefully, among the more than 80 known species of whales, sperm whales can really be said to be frequent visitors to stranding. Don’t they know how heavy their bodies are? Why do they have to swim to the dangerous shallows? Sperm whales are relatively recognizable among many whales because they have a big head. Generally speaking, the body length of an adult sperm whale is about 18 meters, and its head accounts for 6 meters. With a big head, it is naturally not stupid. In fact, this is true. Compared with most mammals, the IQ of sperm whales is definitely high.

If sperm whales are not stupid, why do they always get stranded?

Could it be that because it is not good at swimming, it always likes to hang around in the shallows? Of course not. Sperm whales are not only good at swimming, but also the mammals with the strongest known diving ability. Generally speaking, the main activity area of ​​sperm whales is 1,000 meters underwater, but they often dive to two or three thousand meters underwater because there is their favorite food, the giant squid, a large squid that is more than ten meters long and weighs nearly one ton. Currently, records show that the maximum diving depth of sperm whales can reach 3,600 meters. Since the main activity range of sperm whales is the deep sea, it is even more incredible that they are always stranded, so biologists have been exploring the issue of sperm whale stranding.

Some scientists believe that sperm whale strandings may be related to "gluttony".

When there is a lot of food in a certain coastal waters, sperm whales will be so greedy that they forget everything else and miss the time of low tide, which eventually leads to stranding. This statement is possible, but it somewhat underestimates the intelligence of sperm whales. There is also a view that the stranding of sperm whales is actually a form of suicide. When the sperm whale's body functions cannot support its activities in the deep sea due to aging or injury, it will swim to the coast and strand itself. This view is more anthropomorphic and more likely to make people cry, but it is unrealistic. Most animal suicides are rumors. Animals themselves have a vague understanding of life and death, and there is no scientific basis for saying that animals commit suicide.

Moreover, sperm whales are heavy, and after being stranded, they will find it difficult to support their 50-ton weight due to the loss of buoyancy in the water.

After being stranded, the sperm whale's internal organs and bones will be compressed, making it difficult to breathe, and the skin will be dehydrated and cracked, causing infection and peeling. This is very uncomfortable. Given the sperm whale's intelligence, it makes no sense for it to choose such a painful way to end its life. There is also a view that the sperm whale was stranded because of fright. We always say "whale, whale", but we all know that whales are not fish, but mammals, or more accurately, aquatic mammals. Although whales are aquatic mammals, their physiological characteristics are extremely similar to those of terrestrial mammals, so biologists believe that the earliest whales may not be aquatic, but amphibious.

Ancient amphibious whales must not have been as big as they are now, so they would have had more enemies. When they encountered danger, they would flee to the shore to hide.

Although sperm whales are now purely aquatic animals, ancient genes still exist in their bodies, so when they are frightened, they will easily flee to the shore and get stranded accidentally. This view is more scientific, but judging from the frequency of sperm whales getting stranded, the frequency of them being frightened is really high. You must know that sperm whales belong to toothed whales, and even giant squids are their food. There are really not many things in the ocean that can scare them. Therefore, another view is that the stranding of sperm whales is likely related to damage to the positioning system. Sperm whales that often cruise in the deep sea do not rely on their eyes to determine the direction, they mainly rely on echo ranging.

When the sperm whale's echolocation system is damaged, they will fly around like headless flies and accidentally run aground on the shallows.

So why is the sperm whale's echolocation system damaged? It is likely related to two reasons, one is parasites, and the other is human factors. Human activities have caused certain pollution to the marine environment, and sperm whales are relatively sensitive to chemical substances, so the deterioration of the environment is likely to affect the sperm whale's sensory organs. However, all these views are just speculations, and the real reason remains to be further studied. In any case, sperm whales are old friends of mankind. As early as the Han Dynasty, the ancient Chinese discovered its body secretions and named it "ambergris", so no matter why the sperm whale is stranded, we must provide them with help, and by continuously accumulating emergency rescue experience, we can better help them return to the sea.

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