Australian navy denies links to whale strandings

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2005

SYDNEY (AFP) — The Australian navy denied its ships were behind two mysterious mass strandings in 24 hours that left 130 pilot whales dead on the coast of the island state of Tasmania.

Wildlife rangers said a pod of about 80 pilot whales beached themselves at Marion Bay late Tuesday, just hours after nearly 60 of the animals died in an earlier mass stranding in the same spot.

An Australian Defence Force (ADF) spokesman confirmed two naval ships had been operating in the area using short-range, high-frequency sonar as they searched for remnants of an historic ship wreck.

Greens senator Christine Milne said an investigation should be launched into whether the sonar had contributed to the strandings.

"We know that high-intensity sonar, which some...