Live Strandings
A live stranding is a living animal that comes ashore and is unable to return to the sea, occurring in two forms; single strandings and mass strandings. Why cetaceans live strand remains a mystery, and even after investigation it is not always definitively possible to determine the reason behind it. Some causes of live strandings may be due to natural reasons and outside our control, while other causes can be greatly reduced or even eliminated through human actions. The following are a list of causes which may contribute to the incidence of live strandings of cetaceans in Ireland; health and old age, group cohesion and family bonds, navigation error, environmental factors, foraging and anthropogenic causes (human activity).