Nine blue whales die in ice off Newfoundland, Canada

Nine dead blue whales have been discovered in sea ice off Newfoundland, Canada, apparently after becoming trapped by the ice following a change in wind direction. The bodies were spotted in March. It is not uncommon for whales to occasionally get trapped in ice, with recent incidents involving orcas and beluga whales. 

Blue whales are the largest of all whales and numbers were heavily depleted by whaling. There are thought to be only around 250 blue whales left in this part of the Atlantic, so the loss of these whales represents around 4% of the population.