Cachalots Found Stranded On Australian Island

At least 14 cachalot were found dead after stranding on a beach of Australia’s King Island.

The cachalot is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator.

Australian wildlife authorities are now investigating the deaths of 14 young cachalots that were found beached on an island off of the southeastern coast, officials said Tuesday.

A government Marine Conservation Program team traveled to the island Tuesday and was conducting necrop-sies of the whales to try to determine their cause of death.

Photos distributed by the department showed whales lying on their sides in shallow water on the rocky shore of the island.

Authorities were planning to conduct an aerial survey to determine whether there were any other whales in the area.

The department said it is not unusual for sperm whales to be sighted in Tasmania and the area where they were discovered on the beach was within their normal range and habitat.