At Least 17 Beached Pilot Whales Reported Dead
About 30 pilot whales beached themselves near Manteo, and at least 17 of them died, officials said.
The whales were stranded along a five-mile stretch of beach near Oregon Inlet in the northern Outer Banks, said Laura Engleby, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency’s National Marine Fisheries Service was coordinating a recovery effort involving biologists, Coast Guard crews and the National Park Service.
It is not uncommon for pilot whales to beach themselves, but scientists do not know why. The whales are a protected species.
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