This month marks three years since the mass stranding of almost 100 pilot whales on Cheynes Beach, a tragic event that is still without a scientific explanation.

The heartbreaking incident still looms large in the memory of many locals who either heard about the stranding or were on the beach trying to rescue the beached long-finned pilot whales.

It all started with more than 80 pilot whales huddling together in an unusually large pod just off Cheynes Beach on July 24, 2023.

Locals reported seeing the pod alarmingly close to shore, only about 15m off the beach, and they remained in their tight group on Tuesday morning.

Cheynes Beach Caravan Park owner Joanne Marsh said it was unlike anything she had seen in her 23 years living in the area.

By Tuesday afternoon, the whales had beached themselves, with 97 animals lining the shore of Cheynes Beach for about 100m, with another smaller group beached about 200m away from the main pod.

People were immediately on the beach, trying desperately to get the whales back into the water, but their early efforts would prove fruitless.

Albany local Esther Shaumann was at the beach with her fiance to see the whales on Tuesday morning and saw the whales beach themselves.

“We saw a huge commotion in the water and then saw them leave an adult whale floating and start swimming to the right, which is when I started filming,” she said.

“They beached themselves right in front of us. Both of us, along with 20 others (approximately) tried to save as many as we could by dragging them back out into the deep water, but most re-beached themselves just down the beach further.

“Super heartbreaking to see. We were there in the water for over an hour and a half before the rangers said it was futile.”

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions cordoned off the beach and called off rescue efforts overnight, and volunteers returned to the beach the next morning to a tragic update: 51 whales had died overnight.

A call went out for volunteer rescuers to register, and the DBCA received an overwhelming response, with more than 250 people braving the wet and cold conditions to lend a hand.

The directive on the morning of July 25 was to remove any deceased whales and then work on getting groups of whales back out into deeper water using tarps and slings.

The hope was that once out past the shallows, the pod would move deeper of their own accord, but this was not the case.

Volunteers in the water tried to push them back out to sea, but by 7pm, all the whales pulled off the beach had driven themselves back onto the sand.

Advertiser journalist at the time Kasey Gratton was on the beach, and reported that the mood among the army of volunteers took a grim turn when it became clear their efforts would be in vain.

Veterinary staff assessed the remaining whales, and determined that the animals were suffering, and the heartbreaking decision was made to euthanise the remaining 45 animals on Wednesday night.

Locals held a vigil the week after the stranding, many volunteer rescuers turning up still feeling the effects of the gruelling rescue effort, and the emotional weight of its sad ending.

Scientists still have no answers about why whales beached themselves, but researchers were able to take samples from the bodies of the whales that beached themselves three years ago to help gain some insight.