Dozens of Whales Found Stranded on Beach in Northern Iceland
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
More than 60 pilot whales were stranded on a beach near the northern Icelandic town of Ólafsfjörður, prompting an urgent rescue operation involving local emergency services and community volunteers.
Rescue teams from the Tröllaskagi region and Akureyri were called out to respond to the mass beaching on June 21, according to Hinrik Wöhler, a deputy spokesperson for ICE-SAR (Icelandic Search and Rescue), reported the Iceland Monitor.
A video of the scene was shared by TikTok user @charlotte_9877. The viral clip, which has garnered over 188,000 views since it was posted on June 23, shows the whales moving helplessly in shallow waters.
Text overlaid on the video read: "Yesterday, more than 60 whales were stranded on a beach in a small town in northern Iceland … it was a serious situation, as the low water level prevented them from swimming back to the ocean and they were at risk of dying quickly."
@charlotte_9877
What a day it was! I've never been so close to these animals before, and I truly hope I won't have to be again—and that they won't appear in the harbor anymore. From deep sadness and helplessness… to relief and hope, because they were saved! Huge respect to everyone who came to help so quickly. In today's world, we need more of these everyday heroes 🥹🥺 #iceland #savedwhales #olasfjordur #whales #icelandnews #northicelandwhales @Iceland @visitnorthiceland @whalewatching ♬ suono originale - swami
Lára Stefánsdóttir, the regional manager of the search and rescue team Tindur in Ólafsfjörður, said the rising tide played a critical role in the rescue efforts.
"It went incredibly well. I was very surprised when I arrived and saw 60 to 70 whales stranded on the shore—I thought it was unlikely we'd be able to do anything," Stefánsdóttir told RÚV, Iceland's national broadcaster. "But people quickly showed up and found a way to drag the whales back out."
Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove is a professional wildlife and landscape photographer based in Iceland, who actively monitors such incidents. He told Newsweek the reasons behind whale strandings are complex and debated. "There is a lot of debate on why these kinds of beachings happen, and there are many possible causes," he said. "Over the years, there has been indication that sonar [sound navigation and ranging] has been influencing their navigating abilities."
Van Nieuwenhove also pointed to environmental change as a potential factor. He said that "there's also an indication that climate change, influencing where the whale's food goes, may be a factor at play."
Scientific research supports the idea that these events are not fully understood. A study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin in December 2023 noted that "long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are the most frequently stranded cetaceans in the world; however, the predominant drivers of these events are poorly understood."
Stefánsdóttir told RÚV: "I didn't expect it, but every single animal made it back out. What condition they're in now or what will happen to them, I have no idea. But they all swam away."
Text overlaid on the viral TikTok video credited the successful outcome to "the help of local services and people who jumped into the water to assist," noting that "every single whale was saved."
In a caption accompanying the clip, the TikTok user wrote: "What a day it was! I've never been so close to these animals before, and I truly hope I won't have to be again … Huge respect to everyone who came to help so quickly. In today's world, we need more of these everyday heroes."
While such large-scale strandings are uncommon in Iceland, Van Nieuwenhove said they are not unprecedented. "Large beachings like this are not common at all, but it has occurred in the past where pilot whales have either beached themselves or gotten themselves stuck in a fjord system," he said.
"Very recently, an injured orca also beached itself near Reykjavík. It was rescued twice but shortly after beached itself again … after which it was euthanized. This animal was deemed to be sick or injured."
Van Nieuwenhove added that, due to Iceland's sparse population along much of its coast, similar events may sometimes go unnoticed. "A lot of Iceland's coastline is uninhabited so in some cases, these events are perhaps not even noticed by people," he said.
Newsweek has contacted Icelandic Search and Rescue via email and user @charlotte_9877 via TikTok for comment.
Stock image: Pilot whales swim in the waters of Iceland.
Stock image: Pilot whales swim in the waters of Iceland.
Getty
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