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 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.
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.
Read More: Rescue operation launched after pod beaches at Tolsta
However the other subsequently restranded and died later on, as did three others.
At around 3.30pm it was decided that the remaining whales should be euthanised on welfare grounds.
The cause of the stranding is not known but it is thought the pod may have followed one of the females.
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.
“Pilot whales are notorious for their strong social bonds, so often when one whale gets into difficulty and strands, the rest follow.”
The Coastguard, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, police and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) were also at the scene on Sunday.
Western Isles Council said it had officers at the scene.
BDMLR added: “At about 3.30pm, the local vet along with the Coastguard, fire and rescue, and a forensics vet came to the conclusion that the shallow beach and rough wave conditions made it too unsafe to refloat the remaining animals.
“Considering how long the pilot whales had been out of the water in addition to the poor conditions, it was decided that they should be euthanised on welfare grounds.
“We’d like to extend our thanks to the Lewis community, Stornoway Coastguard, police, Stornoway and Shawbost Fire and Rescue, SMASS, SSPCA, Civil Air Support, CalMac and of course our dedicated team of medics who all came together in their efforts to rescue these whales.
“A sad outcome for this pod and obviously not the outcome we were all hoping for.”
SMASS will now carry out post-mortem examinations on the whales to investigate why they stranded.
Pilot whales are small whales characterised as part of the dolphin family.
A Coastguard spokesman said: “HM Coastguard assisted British Divers Marine Life Rescue this morning following reports of around 50 stranded mammals on Traigh Mhor, Isle of Lewis.
“Alerted at around 7.40am, Stornoway, Bragar and Ness Coastguard rescue teams were sent to the scene to provide safety cover. Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were also in attendance.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel