re: Why do whales beach themselves?

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They are very sensitive to sonic vibrations and a lot of the ocean is saturated with it. They are simply attempting to escape pain.

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Recent reports are finding Alzheimer's and similar destructive brain prion conditions in samples taken from beached whales. Google returns loads of results for "Alzheimer's and beached whales" (dolphins get it too).

For the one asking if they can drown: yes they can. Whales are mammals that breathe air, no gills. So yes they can drown.