A WHALE left beached on a Scots beach has tragically died despite a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) team’s best efforts.
A team of BDMLR medics responded to reports of a beached Sowerby’s beaked whale stranded in shallow water in Ardersier Bay near Inverness last Monday.
The team administered first aid to the stranded whale and did their utmost to save the deep-diving mammal but to no avail.
The whale initially responded well to first aid and swam away from the shallow waters making for the open ocean, but soon turned back and beached itself for a second time.
Sadly, following the whale’s second beaching the decision was made to euthanize the creature for its own good.
The suffering whale, far from its usual habitat, was in poor health and, having been beached multiple times, displayed high levels of stress.
The medical team subsequently decided that the humane thing to do for the distressed mammal was to put it down.
The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme is set to conduct a post-mortem for further investigations.
Taking to social media last Wednesday the BDMLR shared the sad news of the whale’s tragic passing alongside images of their rescue attempts.
Their post was captioned: “Stranded beaked whale.
“On Monday, 13 May, our Medics responded to a Sowerby’s beaked whale stranded in shallow water, in Ardersier Bay, near Inverness, Scotland.
“First aid was administered and the whale swam briefly away from shore but re-stranded within minutes.
“Unfortunately, the whale was in very poor condition and displaying high levels of stress.
“Sowerby’s beaked whales are a deep-diving whale, and given it being far from its usual habitat, its poor state of health, repeated strandings, and obvious distress, the kindest decision was made to, unfortunately, euthanise the whale.
“The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme will now conduct a post-mortem for further investigations.
“A sincere thank you to the Medics that attended, the member of public who alerted BDMLR, and to Dougal Clark.
“A sad outcome all round.”
The post received a huge amount of sympathy for the poor whale with over 850 likes and more than 60 comments from social media users who were left saddened by the news.
One user said: “Well done to team dealing with this rescue attempt. Never easy when it ends that way.”
Another added: “Many thanks to all concerned for trying. A sad outcome, but at least this animal’s suffering is over now.”
A third wrote: “Too many dying out there bless them but thank you for trying to save their life you did [the] best you could all, R.I.P beautiful whale.”
Another replied: “Well done to everyone involved, you tried your best. Unfortunately, not all life can be saved.”
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