Rescuers say whales are out of ‘immediate danger’

Marine experts are still monitoring around 60 whales which had been in danger of a mass stranding on South Uist in Scotland Around 60 pilot whales at risk of beaching themselves in shallow waters off the Western Isles are out of immediate danger, rescuers have said. The whale pod, which caused alarm after swimmming into the Loch Carnan, a small remote sea loch on South Uist on Thursday, has calmed down and moved out of the shallows and into open water, according to members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) . Although the animals could swim back into the loch, there was currently no sign of the whales there, the group said. Dave Jarvis, from BDMLR, said: “They seem to be doing fine at the moment. They seem to be a lot calmer and are not as noisy as yesterday. The volunteer rescue team will remain on station until the situation is resolved.” Some of the whales have injuries to their heads, thought to have been sustained when they struck the rocky shoreline of the loch. The BDMLR dispatched nearly all its whale floatation devices from across the UK in case the mammals beached, and rescuers remain on standby with the inflatable pontoons to help float any stranded whales. A pod of around 35 pilot whales was involved in a similar emergency at Loch Carnan, a small and narrow loch near the northeastern corner of the island, last October. After being watched closely by the BDMLR, the SSPCA and the coastguard, they went back to sea. But less then a week later the same pod is believed to have been involved in a mass stranding in County Donegal in Ireland, when 33 pilot whales were found dead on a beach. Pilot whales are among the most common cetaceans, and the adult male can grow to 20ft long. Whales Marine life Scotland Animals guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.