44 Pilot whales returned to the sea after mass stranding in Scotland

29/07/2011 17:43:56 British Divers Marine Life Rescue team save many whales in Scottish operation

July 2011. In a major rescue of stranded whales in the Kyle of Durnes in the north west of Scotland, as many as 44 Pilot whales have been returned to open sea, though sadly, as many as 25 are thought to have died

After the major rescue operation, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) medics, supporters, conservationists and government officials around the country and worldwide have been commenting on what was an incredible achievement by the team.

There is no doubt at all that if BDMLR had not been on hand, with assistance on site by the Royal Navy, Coastguard, SSPCA, Police, divers and members of the public, then the 44 whales they successfully saved would have perished. This is a really high proportion of the pod that was estimated at being between 60 and 70, so it was no mean feat to rescue so many.

A total of 16 bodies of those had died were recovered and pathologist teams from the Scottish Agricultural college, Zoological Society of London and Wales were able to perform post mortems on these. Tissue samples are still being tested but preliminary results show that none of these animals would have survived refloating. Final results are not yet available.

The animals that the teams were able to assist and those that they were able to keep in the water of the deeper channel in the estuary are now thought to have returned to deeper waters out at sea.

Courtesy of  British Divers Marine Life Rescue