Whale suicide linked to Christchurch quake
The beaching of over 100 pilot whales on a New Zealand island has been theorised as a possible link to the devastating Christchurch quake.
According to AFP, the remote Stewart Island off the south west coast of New Zealand's South Island was the scene of a mass whale suicide two days ago.
Hikers reported seeing 107 whales lying lifeless on the sand. Many were found dead, and a remaining 48 were euthanised by the Department of Conservation due to poor conditions for refloating.
Whale beaching is common in this region of New Zealand, although theories that its timing was an ominous foretelling of the destructive seismic activity have surfaced.
On Twitter Kate Redman 'DolphinSeeker30' asked: "could the stranding of 100 pilot whales be linked to the earthquake?"
CodeNameTanya tweeted: "Over a hundred pilot whales beached themselves in New Zealand and then the earthquake. Wonder if tectonic plate shifts confuse whales. Hmmm."
VeganWheekers asked: "Could there be a connection between the 107 whales that died on New Zealand beach yesterday and today's earthquake?" while TV New Zealand added: "has anyone noticed the correlation between beached whales and earthquakes?"
Following the discovery of 30 stranded pilot whales on the island earlier this month, RadioLive breakfast show host Marcus Lush tweeted that an earthquake "greater than five" would hit in the next week.
Scientists are unsure why pilot whales beach themselves, although they speculate it may occur when their sonar becomes scrambled in shallow water or when a sick member of the pod heads for shore and others follow.
Another example of whales beaching themselves en masse prior to an earthquake occurred in 2004. Around 170 whales died in Australia and New Zealand in the months before the underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean that resulted in the Boxing Day tsunami disaster that killed 230,000 people from 14 different countries.
Reporting on the theory, the Mirror UK mentions Dr Arunachalam Kumar, a professor from India, who believes there is a connection between the beaching of marine mammals and earthquakes.
"It is my observation, confirmed over the years, that mass suicides of whales and dolphins that occur sporadically all over the world, are in some way related to change and disturbances in the electromagnetic field co-ordinates and possible realignments of geotectonic plates thereof.
"I would not be surprised if within a few days a massive quake hits some part of the globe." he said, three weeks before the tsunami in 2004.
