Feeding shift may have steered 55 pilot whales toward Scotland mass stranding

New research, focused on the feeding behavior of long-finned pilot whales, has shed light on one of Scotland's largest mass stranding events. The study, led by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) based at the University of Glasgow, used stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the feeding history of 55 long-finned pilot whales that mass stranded in 2023. The findings have shed light on the animals' movements and foraging behavior in the weeks prior to the event, and on the broader factors that may contribute to mass strandings.