Four Cuvier’s beaked whales have been found dead after stranding on beaches in south-east Spain. Two of the large cetaceans were discovered on the beaches of Mazarrón and Águilas, in the Region of Murcia, with two more reported along the Almería coast at Carboneras and Pulpí.

The conservation group ANSE, the Association of Naturalists of the South East, says the species is difficult to study because it spends most of its life diving at great depths. The organisation has linked the appearance of the whales on the beaches of La Reya and La Colonia to recent military operations involving several navy vessels in the Bay of Mazarrón.

ANSE has called on the regional government and Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition to carry out exhaustive necropsies to determine the cause of the strandings and whether they are connected. Both authorities are already working together to analyse the bodies. The group has warned of previous cases linking military sonar to beaked whale strandings, including incidents in the Canary Islands in 2002 following NATO naval exercises.

The coastline between Águilas and Cartagena includes a large protected marine area known for its ecological value, supporting cetaceans, loggerhead turtles and seabirds. Scientists also recognise the wider Alborán Sea and Gulf of Vera as areas of special importance for the conservation of marine mammals.