Picture by Norman Gillies
On Monday 3 March, BDMLR received a report of a sperm whale very close to shore at Raasay Island. With some ropes wrapped around the whale, it was believed to be the same animal that our LWDT attended to at the weekend. You can read more about that incident here.
We received footage showing the whale grounded in the shallows, still breathing but stationary. As the tide receded, the whale was pushed onto its side and was almost completely stranded at low tide.
This revealed the extent of the rest of the entanglement which wrapped around the whale’s lower jaw and again around its head. Whilst our Marine Mammal Medics were dispatched and on their way to the island, a well-meaning member of the public cut away the ropes to relieve the whale that at this point was still breathing. *NOTE: BDMLR would never recommend any untrained person to attempt the disentanglement of any animal, particularly of this size due to the dangers involved.*
It was hoped the whale would refloat itself as the tide rushed back in around it, but sadly after being disentangled it only took one more noticeable breath. When our Medics arrived, they monitored for a while to confirm whether the whale was still alive (sperm whales can hold their breath for up to two hours), but the lack of movement as the tide drew further in suggested that the whale had passed away. As the rope was tightly wrapped around its mouth restricting its ability to feed, the whale may have been malnourished for some time.
The Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) along with the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) will attempt to attend to the body today (dependent on weather conditions and ferry timetables) to take samples and assess the cause of death further.
We’d like to thank the residents of Raasay Island who kept an eye on the whale until we could attend, and of course our Marine Mammal Medics for their assistance and dedication to this incident.
