Sperm whale dies on Redcar beach

01/06/2011 12:37:06

RNLI unable to help beached whale
May 2011. A sperm whale, estimated to be over 13 metres long, was found washed up on the beach at the southern end of Redcar by an early morning walker. Initially the whale was alive and it was thought that there was a possibility of helping the animal back into the sea at the next high tide, so the RNLI were called to assist and to provide safety cover during the possible rescue mission.

Dave Cocks from Redcar RNLI said: 'I received a call at 7am alerting me to the whale's predicament. When I arrived to assess the situation the tide had gone out and the whale was completely stranded.

Still alive when discovered
'The fire brigade pumped sea water and sprayed the whale, believed to be a sperm whale, to protect it from the drying effects of the sun and wind. At that time it was still alive and was occasionally moving its tail. Sadly the whale died at around 9am.'

Later in the day the Redcar RNLI were asked to launch its inshore lifeboat to provide safety cover for the large crowd which had gathered, and for the rescue workers who were trying to secure the whale's body to prevent it being washed away by the incoming tide.

Dave Cocks said: 'When our crew arrived at the scene they were asked to help secure the whale to a timber groyne. Our volunteers train for many eventualities, and they were able to adapt their skills to make the body safe.'

Dave Cocks said: 'Although our main priority was protecting the rescuers and onlookers, we were willing to help keep the whale secure until the post-mortem could be carried out.

'Most of our rescues involve humans. It was such a sad, pathetic sight to see such a magnificent creature completely helpless, we would have to have had hearts of stone not to offer our assistance.'

Post Mortem
Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) carried out a post-mortem examination on the juvenile male whale at Redcar beach as part of the Defra funded collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), which is managed by ZSL.

Rob Deaville, project manager of the CSIP, says: "Preliminary results from the post-mortem examination indicate that the whale had not fed for some time, suggesting it had become dehydrated, which most likely played a role in its live stranding. Further tests will now be carried out to determine if there may have been additional factors in the animals live stranding and subsequent death."

132 Sperm whale strandings in the UK since 1990
Since 1990, there have been 132 strandings of sperm whales around the UK coast (most occurring in Scotland), of which 19 have been examined by the CSIP.

Rob Deaville added: "Sperm whales normal habitat is in deeper waters off the edge of the continental shelf. When they end up in the much shallower waters of the North Sea, they are unable to feed on their normal diet and probably face a diminishing chance of survival the longer they remain in what is essentially an abnormal habitat for them."

Post mortem reveals the whale was starving
Strandings that undergo post-mortem examination provide a unique insight into causes of death, diseases, environmental contaminant levels, reproductive patterns, diet and other aspects of the general health of cetacean populations in the seas around our coasts. This provides important baseline data all with a view to informing the long-term conservation status of cetaceans.

Information from the post-mortem examination will be added to a database on stranded cetaceans, which is managed by the CSIP and provides an essential resource for identifying factors which may cause cetaceans to strand, helping to prevent these events happening in the future.

Redcar RNLI volunteers assist beached sperm whale (Credit RNLI/Dave Cocks)