Stranded pilot whales prompt Highlands rescue operation

Conservationists try to help 60 whales trapped near Kyle of Durness, suspected as same group from Outer Hebrides in May.


A group of pilot whales became stranded in a remote sea loch in Scotland, prompting a rescue mission. Photograph: Charlie Phillips/WDCS/PA

Fifteen pilot whales have died after a pod of 60 became stranded in a remote sea loch in the Highlands. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, which has sent a team to the area near the Kyle of Durness, said there is a chance that the pod is the same one that became stranded in the Outer Hebrides in May, leaving two whales dead.

Rescuers trying to save the whales said they had perished when they were stranded at low tide. Around 35 members of the pod beached as the water in the sea loch receded.

Twenty of them were refloated to deeper water using inflatable pontoons as the water returned, but the remainder had died, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said. Many of the whales had been stranded on their sides, on top of each other and upside down and were breathing in sand.

A further 20 are thought to be in deeper water and not in imminent danger.

Local residents said the whales may have followed sand eels or salmon into the remote bay near Cape Wrath and had become stranded as the tide receded.

One man from a local B&B, who asked not to be identified, said there were six boats in the loch apparently trying to guide the whales towards a narrow channel where they could be kept until the tide rose again. A small number of them had already beached, he said.

"When the tide is out, it goes right back. The Kyle totally dries. It's just a huge expanse of sand … It's happening right in front of us. Two or three of them have beached. It's dreadful."

Danny Groves of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said the pod could be the same one involved in a stranding near South Uist in . In that incident, 60 of the mammals swam into a narrow and rocky sea loch on the island's coast prompting fears that dozens could be killed in a mass beaching. Two were found dead as the pod eventually left Loch Carnan, on the north-east corner of South Uist. A post-mortem examination carried out on one whale suggested it died of infection. Rescuers later said a second whale was found dead in the loch.

At the time, officials in Ireland were warned to watch out for a mass stranding on their shores. The previous year, 35 pilot whales that appeared to be in danger of beaching in Loch Carnan left South Uist intact but less than a week later, 33 of the pod were found dead on a deserted island off County Donegal.

"It could well be (the same pod)," said Groves. May: "That's the group mentality. The last time, back in May, we thought one or two may have been injured. They operate in a very social group. Rather than leave, the others would come in and follow the injured."

Groves said other possible reasons for stranding behaviour could be noise pollution from sonar or drilling. Until a whale died and a post-mortem was carried out, it was difficult to say what the cause might be, he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/22/stranded-pilot-whales-highlands-rescue

Ah, now that made me cry, poor things.

sassy1261 wrote:Ah, now that made me cry, poor things.

Sorry Sassy, I didn't mean to make you cry. A little better news, at least 44 whales were saved by the rescuers efforts. They are amazing creatures x

Stranded whales return to open seas

Rescuers have returned 44 pilot whales to open water after a mass stranding in an estuary of a sea loch in the Scottish Highlands.

Twenty five whales from the pod died at the Kyle of Durness when they stranded at low tide on Friday.

Attempts to refloat the whales continued in the early hours of Saturday morning.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) medics, the coastguard and the Navy managed to rotate whales that were upside down to prevent them from drowning when the tide came in.

The BDMLR said many of the whales had stranded on their sides, on top of each other and upside down and were breathing in sand.

Medics from as far as Newcastle responded and nine sets of pontoons were delivered to site overnight, but were not used as the estuary flooded too quickly. They remain on site in case they are needed over the weekend.

The water receded, and several bodies were discovered on shore, thought to be of those that died on Friday night.

Three whales were found still alive, however they have been euthanased by vets as their condition is not suitable for refloating.

Post-mortem examinations to try and determine both the cause of the stranding and the deaths of the whales will now be carried out by pathologists, assisted by BDMLR medics.

Teams from BDMLR continued to search the coast, lochs and headlands for evidence of the other whales who, it is hoped, have returned to open water.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2011, All Rights Reserved.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/9760109

So pleased for some good news, today have been full of dreadful things.