Cape Cod is a global hotspot for marine mammal strandings. Since 1999, CCSN has responded to an average of 226 strandings of marine mammals annually. Even more reports come into our office. Many are of resting seals that do not need assistance, but do require CCSN staff to educate the public in order to prevent the animal from being unnecessarily harassed. Due to this tremendous number of animals in need, the Cape Cod Stranding Network has continued to grow and advance response efforts since our inception in 1998.
Three characteristics make Cape Cod a unique area to rescue and research marine mammals:
- High species diversity of stranded marine mammals
- 15 species of whales and 5 species of seals have stranded on Cape Cod in the last eight years
- An unusually large proportion of live stranded animals
- Over the past eight years, nearly 40% of the animals that strand within our region are found alive
- A high frequency of mass strandings
- Cape Cod experiences up to 11 mass stranding events per year!
Cape Cod is one of only a few places in the world where multiple whales and dolphins beach themselves together on the shore. These events, called “mass strandings” require rapid response in order to save as many whales and dolphins as possible. For this reason, CCSN has a highly trained staff, a dedicated corps of volunteers, and specialized response equipment that is always ready to go into the field. Most mass strandings occur in Cape Cod Bay, particularly in the town of Wellfleet, MA. We have determined from years of study that mass stranded whales and dolphins are often healthy, as opposed to single stranded animals (see Why do mass strandings occur?). For this reason, with rapid response, humane care, and proper health assessment protocols, CCSN is able to successfully relocate and release many healthy animals back to the wild! (See Why not just push stranded dolphins/porpoises/whales back into the water?)
Since these animals are actually healthy, CCSN has developed a mass stranding prevention program, to avert strandings before they happen. This is the only successful program in the world to prevent dolphins and whales from stranding. When we are notified of whales or dolphins swimming close to shore in potentially dangerous locations, CCSN responds as quickly as possible. Using small boats and special acoustic devices called “pingers” that emit an irritating high frequency noise, CCSN herds the animals out of danger and into deeper water. CCSN’s highly trained personnel have years of experience operating boats near small whales, and the engine has a propeller guard installed on it to further ensure the safety of the animals during the herding process. CCSN’s boats sweep behind the group of animals in a half-moon pattern, encouraging them to swim in the proper direction, away from land.
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