The mass stranding of 160 melon-headed whales on two beaches in Japan has triggered fears of upcoming earthquake and tsunami. The whales, which are in fact a species of dolphin, were found washed up along a 6-mile (10km) stretch of the Pacific coast of Hokato, around 60 miles (100km) north of Tokyo. Although officials are still investigating the cause of the strandings, they triggered rumours on social media of an impending earthquake. Scroll down for video . More than 160 melon-headed whales washed onto two beaches at Hokota city, north-east of Tokyo . The fears appeared to be based on the appearance of 50 melon-headed whales six days before the devastating undersea earthquake in 2011 that caused a tsunami and left 19,000 people dead. However, experts have dismissed the claims as being 'unscientific'. For centuries there have been accounts of animals behaving bizarrely before earthquakes. Now scientists have filmed the behaviour of wild animals prior to a quake and believe their study could help improve short-term seismic forecasting. They found that animals in Peru - such as pumas and razor-billed curassow birds - ran for cover days before the event. Researchers believe that the changes in behaviour may be linked to airborne ions. Led by Dr Rachel Grant of Anglia Ruskin University, experts used data gathered from a series of motion-triggered cameras located in the Yanachaga National Park in Peru. The research found that significant changes in animal behaviour began 23 days before the magnitude 7.0 Contamana earthquake that struck the region in 2011. On a typical day, the cameras would record between five and 15 animal sightings. However, within the two-day period in the run-up to the earthquake, they recorded five or fewer sightings. Instead they believe the melon-headed whales may have suffered a parasitic infection. Others believe the sandy shoals around Hokato city may have also made the animal's sonar ineffective. Toshiaki Kishiro, head of Cetacean Resources at Japan's National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, said while it was possible the whales frightened by disturbances in the Earth's electromagnetic field caused by movement in the tectonic plates - there were was no firm evidence of this. Speaking to the Telegraph he said: 'This area of Japan has had many similar cases of beachings in the past, and especially of this species, so we are trying to find out why it happens.' He added that the animals, which measure two to three metres in length, could have been trying to avoid predators like killer whales and come too close to the shore. However, despite attempts to reassure the public, social media sites like Twitter have been ablaze with rumours of an impending earthquake. One Twitter user wrote: 'Is the next one coming? Be ready for a quake.' The whales first began to appear on the beach last week but officials said they had discovered eight more bodies today. Local residents had rushed to the beaches with buckets and towels in an attempt to help keep the marine mammals alive. Scientists are still investigating what caused the whales to become stranded on the beaches of Hokota city . Local resident used buckets of water in an attempt to keep the melon-headed whales alive on the beaches . Officials have spent the weekend removing and buring the dead melon-headed whales after they stranded . However, almost all of the animals have now died although a few were returned to the ocean. The strandings in 2011 before the magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Japan is not the first association of whale strandings with tectonic activity. Around 100 pilot whales died in a mass stranding on a remote beach in New Zealand just two days before a large earthquake hit Christchurch in 2011. The 2004 Boxing Day earthquake in the Indian Ocean that also triggered a devastating tsunami also saw 170 whales stranded on beaches in Australia and New Zealand in the days before. Those whales that survived were taken back out to sea by the Japan Coast Guard to return them to the ocean . Japan Coast Guard personnel managed to return some of the whales back to the sea . The whales were stranded on two beaches close to Hokota city around 60 miles north of Tokyo . According to the US Geological Survey, which monitors tremors around the world, there was a small magnitude 5.3 earthquake 157 miles (252km) off the coast of Namie, Japan. Quakes of this size are relatively common along the fault line. However, researchers have found it is possible detect tiny pulses in the Earth's magnetic field in the areas around the epicentre of earthquakes in the weeks before they occur. Researchers at San Jose State University have been developing new techniques to use these pulses to predict earthquakes using highly sensitive magnetometres. However, it is not know if whales have the ability to detect such tiny fluctuations. Tadasu Yamada, a senior researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science, said investigations were still ongoing into what caused the whales to strand in Hokato. He told public broadcaster NHK: 'We don't see any immediate signs of diseases on their bodies, such as cancer. 'We want to figure out what killed these animals.' Residents struggled to return the whales to the sea after the mammals became exhausted in the shallow water . Once stranded, the animals are vulnerable to dehydration and sunburn until rescuers can use the high tide to move their massive weight back into deeper water. Efforts to save the dolphins stood in marked contrast to the global view of Japan and its relationship with cetaceans. Despite international opprobrium, Japan hunts minke and pilot whales off its coast, and has for many years also pursued the mammals in the Antarctic Ocean, where it takes advantage of a scientific exemption to an international moratorium on whaling. It has never made a secret of the fact that meat from the animals is consumed. A United Nations court ruled last year that the Antarctic hunt was a commercial venture masquerading as research, prompting Tokyo to suspend operations, but it vowed to redesign the programme to make it more scientific. The International Whaling Commission's (IWC) panel of experts said today that it opposed Japan's proposal for its scientific research whaling programme, saying it did not demonstrate a need for killing whales.
The whales washed up along a 6 mile stretch of coast near Hokato, Japan . Experts have dismissed rumours of impending earthquake as unscientific . The strandings sparked comparisons with the appearance of 50 melon-headed whales six days before the earthquake in 2011 that left 19,000 dead . Officials instead believe the whales may have suffered a parasitic infection while others say the animals may have been attempting to avoid predators .