Pod of 77 whales dies after becoming stranded on Scottish beach
12 July 2024, 13:16
A pod of 77 pilot whales have died after a mass stranding in Orkney, Scotland.
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The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) attended the scene at Tresness beach on the Isle of Sanday just before 11am on Thursday after receiving reports of a mass stranding.
Upon their arrival, the BDMLR found 77 whales, including several 22-ft adult males and a set of calves.
This tragic event is believed to be the largest mass whale stranding in Scotland since 1975.
After discovering the whales, the BDMLR confirmed only 12 were still alive, these have all now been euthanized due to their injuries.
A BDMLR statement read: “Sadly the remaining 12 pilot whales have been euthanized due to their condition deteriorating from the many hours they have spent stranded on the beach.”
When outside of water, whales are forced to carry their own weight. This can lead to crush injuries which are often fatal for the marine mammals.
The statement added: “The substrate they’re on is also incredibly soft meaning they have sunk even deeper into the sand when the tide washed over them, so they unfortunately weren’t able to refloat themselves.
“We would like to thank all of our volunteer Marine Mammal Medics who attended this incident along with members of the local community for their efforts in these distressing circumstances.”
The BDMLR confirmed plans to begin removing the whales from the beach this afternoon, but have been unable to give an exact timeframe due to the scale of the operation.
It is unknown why the whales became stranded, but experts have said one may have got into trouble, leading the entire pod to follow.
