150 WHALES DIE IN MASS BEACHING

More than 150 short-finned pilot whales stranded themselves Thursday on the southwestern tip of Australia, stunning parks officials and prompting a massive rescue effort.

The mass beaching likely took place Wednesday night or early Thursday morning at Hamelin Bay in Western Australia, according to the state’s parks and wildlife service. Videos of the scene showed dozens of the animals piled against each other on the shore, many with their tails still wiggling. Some whales were fully on dry land, while others were in shallow waters.

By 9:30 a.m., about 75 of the whales had died, the parks service said. Officials shut the beach down, issued a shark alert and rushed equipment and trained volunteers to the site to try to return the pilot whales to deeper water. Despite their efforts, none were saved.

There are numerous theories for why mass beachings happen — though the phenomenon has taken place for centuries.

Environmental groups have argued that sonar — used to map the ocean floor or for military purposes — can trigger mass strandings in dolphins and whales, who are sensitive to underwater noises.