2004年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 stranding 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 stranded Sunday afternoon.
Rescuers on King Island have successfully herded 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 convoy 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。
