orientation ▁caused ▁by ▁military ▁son ar , ▁or ▁imp a ired ▁navigation ▁in ▁dise ased ▁individuals ▁that ▁lead ▁the ▁rest ▁of ▁the ▁group ▁ast ray . ▁Due ▁to ▁their ▁tight ▁social ▁b onds , ▁rescue ▁attempts ▁following ▁str and ings ▁are ▁not ▁always ▁successful , ▁as ▁wh ales ▁will ▁often ▁re - str and ▁themselves ▁upon ▁hearing ▁the ▁calls ▁of ▁their ▁group ▁members ▁on ▁shore . ▁Str and ing ▁rescue ▁is ▁often ▁difficult ▁and ▁dangerous ▁work , ▁and ▁all ▁individuals ▁witness ing ▁a ▁str and ing ▁should ▁contact ▁local ▁authorities ▁to ▁report ▁the ▁incident ▁immediately . ▁ ▁Human - indu ced ▁thre ats ▁ ▁Short - f inned ▁pilot ▁wh ales ▁have ▁been ▁h unted ▁for ▁many ▁centuries , ▁particularly ▁by ▁Japanese ▁wh al ers . ▁Between ▁ 1 9 4 8 ▁and ▁ 1 9 8 0 , ▁hundreds ▁of ▁wh ales ▁were ▁explo ited ▁at ▁H ok ka ido ▁and ▁San ri ku ▁in ▁the ▁north ▁and ▁Ta iji , ▁I zu , ▁and ▁Ok ina wa ▁in ▁the ▁south . 2 0 ▁Ann ual ▁catch es ▁have ▁r anged ▁from ▁ 1 0 0 ▁to ▁ 5 0 0 ▁wh ales ▁from ▁ 1 9 7 2 ▁to ▁ 2 0 0 9 ▁across ▁the ▁country , ▁and ▁the ▁practice ▁continues ▁to ▁this ▁day . 7 ▁Today , ▁pilot ▁wh ales ▁are ▁h unted ▁in ▁a ▁few ▁areas ▁of ▁Japan , ▁mainly ▁along ▁the ▁central ▁Pacific ▁coast , ▁as ▁well ▁as ▁the ▁L esser ▁Ant illes ▁( e . g