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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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55 Whales Beach on S. African Shore

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(AP) – Dozens of pilot whales beached this morning near the storm-lashed tip of South Africa, prompting a massive rescue operation. Six bulldozers were deployed to push the 55 whales back into the water, but "as soon as we put them back into the sea, they swim back to the beach again," said a spokesman for the rescue effort. "It's not a very easy situation."

One whale has died, and high winds and rough seas were frustrating the rescue attempts. Hundreds of volunteers and onlookers flocked to the beach at Kommitjie, near Cape Point, and were blocking the main approach road.

People seen as they attempt to save whales on the beach, in Kommitjie, South Africa, Saturday, May 30, 2009.
People seen as they attempt to save whales on the beach, in Kommitjie, South Africa, Saturday, May 30, 2009.   (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
People seen as they attempt to save a whale, on the beach, in Kommitjie, South Africa, Saturday, May 30, 2009. Dozens of pilot whales beached Saturday morning near the storm-lashed tip of South Africa, prompting a massive rescue operation.
People seen as they attempt to save a whale, on the beach, in Kommitjie, South Africa, Saturday, May 30, 2009. Dozens of pilot whales beached Saturday morning near the storm-lashed tip of South Africa,...   (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 31, 09 2:32 AM CDT
Although extreme weather and natural magnetic fields can affect whales and sometimes disorient them, there is a growing consensus among experts that the hazardous underwater disposal of mercury during WW2, similar illegal disposal and pollution, military sonar and other human caused factors have more to do with the 'beaching' and massive damage to marine life than do natural phenomena. A little net research will bring some of this into a clearer focus. Reply
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