Mass Death of 7 Whales on an Island Near Turkey... Could It Be an Aftershock of the Earthquake?

Discovered on the southern Cyprus island of Turkey
Experts say "It may be affected by earthquake noise"

Seven whales were found dead in a mass stranding on the island of Cyprus, south of T?rkiye. There is speculation that this may be related to the recent earthquake that struck T?rkiye and Syria.

According to reports from AFP and Reuters on the 11th (local time), four whales were discovered on the northern coast of Cyprus on the 9th. Of these, three were rescued and returned to the sea, but one was found dead. On the 10th, the carcasses of six more whales were found.

Cyprus is a small island nation in the eastern Mediterranean of West Asia. It is located south of T?rkiye, which was affected by the large earthquake that began on the 6th, and west of Syria.

Cyprus authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the whales' deaths. According to Cyprus state news agency, the Fisheries and Marine Research Department stated, “An autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of death of the whales.”

A whale found dead on the coast of Cyprus Island
[Photo by Reuters]

Whales occasionally appear in the waters near Cyprus, but it is not common. AFP reported, “Previously, in 2021 and 2022, one whale was found dead each year, but this is the first time that seven have been found.”

Additionally, according to AFP, all the whales that died this time are a species of beaked whales known as Cuvier's beaked whale.

Beaked whales live in deep waters, diving to depths of about 3,048 meters and spending long periods underwater, making sightings very rare. This mass stranding is therefore unusual. Among them, Cuvier's beaked whale holds a record for diving for as long as 3 hours and 42 minutes.

Yannis Ioannou of the Cyprus Fisheries and Marine Research Department explained on local broadcast, “Whales use echolocation systems to determine their location by sound waves, so they can be affected by noises occurring in the sea, such as those caused by earthquakes.”