On Thursday 15 January, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Marine Mammal Medics attended a harbour porpoise stranding at the base of the Sewerby cliffs, Yorkshire, following reports from members of the public of a marine animal amongst the rocks, with concerns it had badly injured its tail. The use of What3Words enabled Medics to locate the animal quickly and accurately, saving valuable time during the response.
On arrival, our team found the mammal lying on its side and struggling in a shallow rockpool. The porpoise was safely assessed by Medics and confirmed as a 1.15m female in poor nutritional condition, indicating she had likely been struggling to feed for some time.
There were also multiple significant injuries across the body, alongside evidence of scavenger damage including around one eye and jaw. The animal was then carefully carried up the notoriously steep steps at Sewerby to waiting transport to facilitate the quickest veterinary assessment. Sadly, the kindest option was to humanely euthanise the animal to stop the ongoing suffering. The porpoise has now been transferred to the team at the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) for a post-mortem examination, which may help to further understand the circumstances surrounding the stranding.
BDMLR would like to thank the members of the public who promptly reported the incident and those who maintained an appropriate distance enabling our Medics to conduct a safe welfare assessment. We also extend our thanks to HM Coastguard, who remained on standby should assistance with a refloat have been required by our team.
If you see a stranded dolphin, porpoise or whale anywhere on the UK coastline, please call the BDMLR 24/7 Hotline on 01825 765546 to report your sighting. If possible, please provide an accurate location – using the What3Words app can be extremely helpful in pinpointing the animal’s exact position and enabling the quickest response.