11月底，在澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州的国王岛，大批巨头鲸和瓶鼻鲸搁浅海滩。尽管救援人员帮助不少困在海滩上的鲸鱼重返大海，还是有80多头鲸鱼在烈日下无奈死去。新华社报道如下：Up to 80 pilot whales and bottle nose dolphins died after a mass stranding¹ on King Island off Tasmania, Australia.

The number of dead mammals is lower than that in earlier reports which said at least 100 died after they were first noticed stranded² Sunday afternoon.

Rescuers on King Island have successfully herded³ a large pod of whales and dolphins out to sea, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio reported Monday.

Strand有“沙滩、海滨”的含义，作动词表示“（使）搁浅、陷入困境”，例如：The convoy⁴ was stranded in the desert.（使团在沙漠中陷入了困境。）I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends.（我被搁浅在这个陌生的城市，没有钱也没有朋友。）

鲸类尤其是巨头鲸集体搁浅的现象并不少见，甚至还有同一鲸群在几天内连续搁浅的情况，但其原因却始终令人费解。据科学家推测，由于鲸鱼为群体性很强的海洋动物，且活动范围靠近海岸，因此有两种可能：一是领头的鲸生病，冲向了海滩，其它的鲸也习惯性地跟随头鲸向前冲；二是鲸群在追逐猎物误入浅滩。当一条或几条鲸鱼搁浅时，其他鲸鱼就会步其后尘或者试图前往营救，结果造成大批鲸鱼同时搁浅在同一片海滩。