More than 40 pilot whales have died after a mass stranding on a Western Isles beach. About 55 of the mammals washed onto Traigh Mhor beach at North Tolsta on the Isle of Lewis at about 07:00 on Sunday morning. Marine charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue said only 10 had survived.
27 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
27
More than 40 whales die after mass stranding on Scottish island
.webp)
More than 50 whales die in 'Britain's worst mass stranding' after running aground on Scottish beach
17 July 2023, 09:44 | Updated: 17 July 2023, 10:01
More than 50 pilot whales have died following a mass stranding on a Scottish beach.
Fifty-five whales washed ashore at Traigh Mhor in North Tolsta on Sunday in the biggest mass stranding ever in Scotland.
Marine rescuers were called to the scene on the Isle of Lewis to reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there at around 7am on Sunday.
Initial reports suggested there were around 55 animals consisting of both adults and calves, however it was soon discovered that only 15 were still alive.
Attempts were made to re-float two of the most active whales, but by 3.30pm on Sunday, it was decided that the remaining whales should be euthanised on welfare grounds, despite a multi-agency rescue attempt.
Marine rescuers were called to the scene on the Isle of Lewis to reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there at around 7am on Sunday.
Initial reports suggested there were around 55 animals consisting of both adults and calves, however it was soon discovered that only 15 were still alive.
Attempts were made to re-float two of the most active whales, but by 3.30pm on Sunday, it was decided that the remaining whales should be euthanised on welfare grounds, despite a multi-agency rescue attempt.
Dr Brownlow said: "In terms of the number of casualty animals, this is the biggest one we've had. This is one of the biggest pilot whale mass strandings we've ever dealt with."
On Monday, work will be undertaken to determine the cause of the pod's death by SMASS and led by Dr Brownlow.
"So if one animal goes on to the beach for whatever reason then it can be that the entire pod will follow and that is basically what happened in this case."
It is thought the pod may have followed one of the females on to the beach.
Dr Brownlow said there was still a backlog of post-mortem examinations to take place on animals from previous mass strandings and that determining the cause of death will be a "monumental task".
He said: "What we will try and do is triage these animals.
"We will select the animals we think best represent the rest of the pod and make sure we take samples and as much data from those as we can. Then it's simply a race against time, energy and weather.
"We will do the most we possibly can to find out what's going on here."
On Monday, work will be undertaken to determine the cause of the pod's death by SMASS and led by Dr Brownlow.
- While the exact cause is currently unclear, Dr Brownlow said SMASS had a "fairly clear idea" the whales could have come onto a "very shallow" beach in quite bad weather.
"So if one animal goes on to the beach for whatever reason then it can be that the entire pod will follow and that is basically what happened in this case."
It is thought the pod may have followed one of the females on to the beach.
- A statement from BDMLR, a charity, said: “One of the dead whales appeared to have had a vaginal prolapse – so it’s currently suspected that the whole pod stranded due to one female giving birth.
Dr Brownlow said there was still a backlog of post-mortem examinations to take place on animals from previous mass strandings and that determining the cause of death will be a "monumental task".
He said: "What we will try and do is triage these animals.
"We will select the animals we think best represent the rest of the pod and make sure we take samples and as much data from those as we can. Then it's simply a race against time, energy and weather.
"We will do the most we possibly can to find out what's going on here."
- The whales will be taken to a landfill site in Stornoway to be worked on and Dr Brownlow said they would be buried after the post-mortem examinations were complete."
>
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/TQIV4AER2RBJD63Y7UAQFGS5OM.jpg)
Pod of more than 50 pilot whales dies after mass stranding on Scottish beach
- Marine rescuers were called to the scene on the Isle of Lewis on Sunday to reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there
- The cause of the stranding is not known but it is thought the pod may have followed one of the females
Published: 5:39am, 17 Jul, 2023
Carcasses of pilot whales on a Tasmania beach in September. On Sunday, a pod of more than 50 pilot whales died following a mass stranding on a Scottish beach. Photo: AFP
A pod of more than 50 pilot whales has died following a mass stranding on a Scottish beach.
Marine rescuers were called to the scene at Traigh Mhor in North Tolsta, on the Isle of Lewis, to reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there at around 7am local time on Sunday.
Initial reports suggested there were around 55 animals consisting of both adults and calves, however it was soon discovered that only 15 were still alive. .
Charity British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) tried to refloat two of the more active whales that were still low down in the water on the outgoing tide and one got away. However the other subsequently re-stranded and died later on, as did three others.Marine rescuers were called to the scene at Traigh Mhor in North Tolsta, on the Isle of Lewis, to reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there at around 7am local time on Sunday.
Initial reports suggested there were around 55 animals consisting of both adults and calves, however it was soon discovered that only 15 were still alive. .
- At around 3:30pm it was decided that the remaining whales should be euthanized on welfare grounds.
- A statement from BDMLR said: “One of the dead whales appeared to have had a vaginal prolapse – so it’s currently suspected that the whole pod stranded due to one female giving birth. The cause of the stranding is not known but it is thought the pod may have followed one of the females.
Pilot whales are small whales characterized as part of the dolphin family.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
>
No comments:
Post a Comment