Marine experts will be traveling to Anegada on Monday to conduct necropsies on the more than 40 pilot whales which were found dead ashore on the eastern end of Anegada.
This was confirmed by the Representative of the Ninth District and former Minister of Natural Resources Vincent Wheatley on Sunday.
He said there will be two teams traveling to the sister island of Anegada, with one from Puerto Rico and the other from another Caribbean island.
The phenomenon that is said to have occurred on Friday, July 1,left many residents across the territory in shock and saddened, as the news traveled rapidly throughout the communities following the discovery of the pilot whales.
284News reached out to non-profit organisation Beyond the Reef, which was on the grounds of Anegada to assist local fishermen who had discovered the incident.
Cofounder Kendyl Berna shed light on the incident and spoke about the hands-on approach used to save the lives of many of the other trapped pilot whales which had not yet made it ashore.
While the known cause of the incident is yet to be determined, there exist many speculations based on previous researched incidents as to why such a phenomenon may occur.
Berna spoke on some of the possibilities but said the real cause will only be determined after the necropsies have been completed.
Meanwhile, 284News spoke to Chris Juredin who is also a Cofounder of Beyond the Reef and he spoke about how his team managed to save two of the whales which had washed up on shore.
Juredin further revealed that this is not the first time that such an incident has occurred on Anegada.
In fact, he said approximately 15-20 years ago, a similar incident occurred at the exact spot.
According to National Geographic, pilot whales travel in large pods and biologically possess a natural herding instinct which enables the group to stay together “even if one is sick or compromised, which sometimes causes them to strand (or beach) while trying to support a distressed individual.”
Other scientists believe sonar signals and other man-made loud underwater noises may contribute to beaching events.