Stranded pilot whales prompt Highlands rescue operation

Conservationists try to help 60 whales trapped near Kyle of Durness, suspected as same group from Outer Hebrides in May A rescue operation has been launched to save up to 60 pilot whales which have become stranded in a remote sea loch in the Highlands. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, which has sent a team to the area near the Kyle of Durness, said there is a chance that the pod is the same one that became stranded in the Outer Hebrides in May , leaving two whales dead. Local residents said the whales may have followed sand eels or salmon in to the remote bay near Cape Wrath and had become stranded as the tide receded. One man from a local B&B, who asked not to be identified, said there were six boats in the loch apparently trying to guide the whales towards a narrow channel where they could be kept until the tide rises again. A small number of them had already beached, he said. “When the tide is out, it goes right back. The Kyle totally dries. It’s just a huge expanse of sand … It’s happening right in front of us. Two or three of them have beached. It’s dreadful.” The man said he understood that a team of bomb disposal experts from a nearby MoD firing range, who were divers, were helping in the rescue. Aberdeen Coastguard said they first got a call at about 11.45am from a member of one of the coastguard teams in the area. “At first it was thought there were 40 minke whales but now it is thought there is up to 60 long-finned pilot whales,” said a spokesman. “They are stuck in rock pools and the tide is receding.” Danny Groves of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said the pod could be the same one involved in a stranding near South Uist in May. In that incident, 60 of the mammals swam into a narrow and rocky sea loch on the island’s coast prompting fears that dozens could be killed in a mass beaching. Two were found dead as the pod eventually left Loch Carnan, on the north-east corner of South Uist. A post-mortem examination carried out on one whale suggested it died of infection. Rescuers later said a second whale was found dead in the loch. At the time, officials in Ireland were warned to watch out for a mass stranding on their shores. The previous year, 35 pilot whales that appeared to be in danger of beaching in Loch Carnan left South Uist intact but less than a week later, 33 of the pod were found dead on a deserted island off County Donegal. “It could well be (the same pod),” said Groves. “That’s the group mentality. The last time, back in May, we thought one or two may have been injured. They operate in a very social group. Rather than leave, the others would come in and follow the injured.” Groves said other possible reasons for stranding behaviour could be noise pollution from sonar or drilling. Until a whale died and a post-mortem was carried out, it was difficult to say what the cause might be, he added. Whales Conservation Animal behaviour Animal welfare Scotland Kirsty Scott guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 22, 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.