Mass whale strandings are not well understood, she said, but pilot whales are notorious for getting stuck on beaches. (De Vos broke down some of what we do know about mass strandings in an Instagram post on Tuesday.)



In this case, as the whales came closer to shore, they got caught in the wave zone. As they tried to swim back out—even with the help and guidance of humans—they’d often get pushed back by crashing waves. “Essentially you have to imagine that it is like being stuck [on] a treadmill—for hours!” de Vos said. The more exhausted the whales became, the harder it was for them to push past the waves.



“It wasn’t an easy task,” de