ELEVEN sperm whales died stranded on an Orkney beach yesterday.
Their deaths marked the end to what is believed to be Europe's biggest
ever whale-beaching.
A veterinary expert in the behaviour of whales said last night that it
could be pure coincidence that the group of sperm whales had died on a
beach at Sanday at the same time as two killer whales were beached on a
northerly shore of Shetland.
Mr Harry Ross, project leader of the Scottish Strandings Scheme, said
that it was ''very unusual'' to find a group of sperm whales being
stranded in this area, but that once they were beached, it was
impossible to move them.
He praised the Shetlanders for managing to return the much smaller
killer whale which beached on Wednesday morning at Uyeasound on Unst.
One killer whale was found to be dead but the other was returned to its
''family'' of 10 other animals.
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