Rescuers were called to Traigh Mhor, a beach at North Tolsta on the Isle of Lewis, around 7am on Sunday after reports of dozens of pilot whales in trouble. Early counts put the pod at about 55 adults and calves. Only 15 were still alive when crews reached them.
Stornoway, Bragar and Ness Coastguard teams were alerted at about 7.40am. Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service joined them, along with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme and officers from the Western Isles council.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue, a charity, tried to refloat the two most active whales, which were sitting low in the water as the tide went out. One swam off. The other stranded again and died, and so did three more.
By about 3.30pm the local vet, the coastguard, fire and rescue crews and a forensics vet agreed the remaining animals could not safely be returned to the sea. The beach was shallow, the waves were rough, and the whales had been out of the water for a long time. They were euthanised on welfare grounds. More than 50 whales in all died.
Why they stranded
The cause is not known. The pod may have followed one of its females. BDMLR 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 charity said. Pilot whales belong to the dolphin family and are the cetacean species most prone to mass strandings.
The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme will carry out post-mortem examinations to find out why the animals came ashore.
BDMLR thanked the Lewis community, Stornoway Coastguard, police, the Stornoway and Shawbost fire crews, the SSPCA, Civil Air Support, CalMac and its own medics. “A sad outcome for this pod and obviously not the outcome we were all hoping for,” it said.
Sources
- Pod of more than 50 pilot whales dies after mass stranding on Scottish beach
- More than 50 pilot whales dead in mass stranding on Isle of Lewis in Scotland
