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March 12, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Dolphins have been stranding in droves on the shores of Patagonia. Scientists think they\u2019ve found the culprit<\/p>\n Dolphins washing up on the shores of Patagonia may have been fleeing orcas in the area<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n George Karbus Photography\/Getty Images<\/p>\n A dolphin murder mystery is playing out on the shores of South America\u2019s Patagonia region: multiple mass strandings have seen scores of dolphins washing up for no easily discernable reason. In one such event in 2021, for example, 52 common dolphins turned up dead in San Antonio Bay, off the coast of the province R\u00edo Negro in Argentina\u2014but aside from being dead, the animals appeared to have been in good health, with no apparent wounds or signs of disease. Then, about a year and a half later, hundreds more dolphins stranded in shallow waters in the same area, although, luckily, no deaths were reported.<\/p>\n The reason why was a mystery. But now researchers have identified compelling suspects: killer whales. In a new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers show how in both cases, the presence of killer whales nearby may have spooked the dolphins, causing them to flee into San Antonio Bay\u2019s perilous shallow waters.<\/p>\n Dolphin stranding may be triggered by myriad issues, from changing tides to prey behavior\u2014but the study provides \u201cnovel evidence\u201d that predators may play a role, too, the authors write.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n \u201cThis study provides, for the first time, evidence supporting the hypothesis that such coastal incursions may be triggered by stress induced by predator presence, specifically killer whales in the area,\u201d the authors write. Orcas\u2014technically dolphins themselves\u2014are known to hunt smaller species of dolphins. (There is evidence that some killer whales team up with other dolphins to hunt, too.)<\/p>\n To come to their finding, the researchers relied on interviews with local residents and fishers, as well as video footage, to piece together the timeline of events leading up to the mass strandings. \u201cIn both events, dolphins exhibited atypical inshore movements, high cohesion and disorientation shortly before killer whales were sighted,\u201d the authors write.<\/p>\n The results could help explain mystery mass stranding events at other known hotspots, such as New Zealand, Australia and Massachusetts, which have similar geographies.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 12, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Dolphins have been stranding in droves on the shores of Patagonia. Scientists think they\u2019ve found the culprit Dolphins washing up on the shores of Patagonia may have been fleeing orcas in the area By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron George Karbus Photography\/Getty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[15297,4039,19671,8453,384,22299,377,13662],"class_list":{"0":"post-46569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-culprit","9":"tag-dolphins","10":"tag-droves","11":"tag-patagonia","12":"tag-scientists","13":"tag-shores","14":"tag-stranding","15":"tag-theyve"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n