Nine beached pilot whales die at Cape Cod

DENNIS, Mass. -- More than 50 pilot whales beached themselves on a stretch of Cape Cod sand Monday and nine of them died before vacationers and other volunteers could push the animals back out to deeper water in a feverish rescue effort.

Hundreds of vacationers lined a quarter-mile of Chapin Beach and watched as rescuers tended to the small, glistening black whales, first discovered stranded about 6 a.m.

One of the whales was dead when rescuers arrived, and another was euthanized after it went into shock, said Sallie Riggs, director of Cape Cod Stranding Network. Seven others died after spending hours in the hot sun. The carcasses were taken away in a dump truck while volunteers poured buckets of water over the others and draped them with wet towels to keep them moist.

The rising tide at midday helped volunteers push the remaining 46 whales into water deep enough for the animals to swim on their own.

"To see this many whales get off free after six hours is amazing," said Judy Scarafile, a member of the stranding network. "We all have our fingers crossed that they'll not come back."

A necropsy was planned for the first whale that died.

Several vacationers joined volunteers from the stranding network, the New England Aquarium and the Center for Coastal Studies in the rescues.

"We came to the beach expecting a nice relaxing day," said Rob Barresi, of Natick, who with his brother, Michael, helped the whales.

Pilot whales are common in New England waters. Also known as blackfish, they feed on squid, sand eels and small crustaceans.

Mass strandings of pilot whales are not unusual since they are highly sociable animals that travel and feed in groups and frequent areas near the coastline.