Strandings of whales, dolphins, and seals are welfare emergencies requiring coordinated responses. Understanding their causes and how to help appropriately can save individual animals and inform conservation.
Stranded marine mammals are typically in acute distress from illness, injury, or disorientation. Well-intentioned but untrained public intervention can significantly worsen outcomes — keeping a beached whale wet is helpful, but attempting to push it back to sea may result in it re-stranding in worse condition, or injuring responders. For mass stranding events, triage decisions — including difficult welfare-based euthanasia — must be made rapidly by trained teams. The welfare of individual animals must be weighed against the scientific value of stranding data and the resources available for treatment. Supporting professional stranding networks ensures responses are welfare-optimal rather than driven by emotional instinct alone.