Three dead pilot whales have been driven off the coast of Lower Saxony. As the administration of the Wadden Sea National Park announced, a carcass was discovered on Tuesday at the island of Juist. Another was on the edge of Leybucht (Kreis Aurich). West of Borkum in the Außenems, a third dead whale was spotted and salvaged by a government ship.
Veterinarians of the National Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Laves) have examined all three cadavers to prevent a disease risk. In addition, tissue samples were taken. For the cause of death of the animals made the National Park so far no information.
The strictly protected pilot whales belong to the family of dolphins and occur in the northern hemisphere, especially in the Atlantic. They rarely get lost in the shallow North Sea, for their preferred food is cuttlefish, which they capture in depths of several hundred meters. The up to eight meter long pilot whales live in groups like most dolphins, so it is not uncommon for several animals to strand at the same time.