Lost in the shallows, whales refuse rescue

Then suddenly, after two days of constant effort, the experts announce they're finished. "We just have to let them do what they're going to do," yells Connie Merigo, a staffer at the New England Aquarium who's heading the effort. She urges kayakers to abandon the cause. But they refuse – and grumble among themselves. "It's so hard to listen to second-hand criticism – people saying, 'Why are they giving up?' " Ms. Merigo says. "We've been at this for two days – and the whales have beached themselves three times."

Indeed, questions about whale rescues reach far beyond Cape Cod. In Australia last weekend, 60 "false killer whales" stranded themselves on a beach. Fishermen worked in the water for hours, trying in vain to save them, despite the sighting of a big shark in the area. Officials in Seattle recently spent more than half a million dollars to transport a young orphan orca from Puget Sound to Canada to reunite her with her whale group. And trainers have been trying unsuccessfully for four years to re-introduce Keiko, the "Free Willy" star, into the wild.

Meanwhile, some observers are alarmed by recent moves by Norway and Japan to re-start the whale trade. Most nations gave up whaling – and whale trading – in 1986, amid dramatic declines in whale populations.

Scientists are often conflicted about whether to go all-out in trying to return marine mammals to the seas. On a personal level, "I'd always do everything I could," says Darlene Ketten, a scientist at the Woods Hole research center. As a scientist, however, "I'd think harder about it – and take each case blow by blow." For her the central question is: "Is this animal just being stupid for the moment" and in need of help, "or is it desperately ill," and so perhaps should be left to die.

Now it's 4:05 p.m. A pack of about eight whales – led by one the rescuers call "the big guy" – bursts through a line of kayaks and swims forcefully into the shallows. They twist and spew, their tail fins silhouetted against the grass. "This appears to be their final resting place," says a volunteer. Eventually, all the animals strand themselves.

As crews clad in aqua-colored hospital shirts come in to euthanize the whales, the question re-mains: Why would seemingly intelligent animals do such a thing?

A central theory is that the animals simply get lost in the complicated geography of Cape Cod, a sickle-shaped landmass with many mini-peninsulas and coves. As the tide goes out, whales may simply run out of room to escape. Cape Cod is one of the world's most common spots for strandings, dating back to the 1600s.

A second theory is illness. Initial observations don't indicate any illness in these animals, but tests will take time.

A third, more dramatic theory is that whales use magnetic lines in Earth's crust to navigate, and when solar storms scramble Earth's magnetic fields, they lose their way.

In the end, Dr. Ketten observes simply, "Asking what causes this is like asking what causes a car accident – often it's many factors."

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