I
A WHALE
OF A TALE
An incredible story of visitors and residents coming together to save the day.
t’s true when we say some of the most beautiful and rare wildlife
can be found in the Golden Isles. From finding a live sand dollar
burrowing itself in the wet sand, or watching a bald eagle or an
osprey soar high above the shore in search of their next meal, there’s
something so special about spotting, identifying and sometimes even
encountering wildlife, especially when it’s in their natural habitat.
In July 2019, beachgoers at East Beach on St. Simons Island were in
for quite a big surprise. At first, what appeared to be a pod of
bottlenose dolphins began swimming parallel to the shoreline. But as
the group got closer, it was apparent this was an animal much larger
than the bottlenose dolphins we know and love. In all, a pod of about
50 pilot whales swam closer and closer to shore and began to surface on
the beaches of St. Simons Island.
Commonly referred to as a mass stranding, when large groups of
marine mammals attempt to strand themselves, the outcome can be
downright devastating and heart-wrenching. In fact, the last recorded
pilot whale strandings in coastal Georgia occurred between 1955-1977
and left well over 100 whales dead. “This gives you the context of how
this could have turned out differently if the community hadn’t been
there,” remarks Clay George, senior wildlife biologist for the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources.
As fate would have it, it seemed as if the stars aligned and the
Short-Finned Pilot Whale
34