Whale stranding today 22/07/2011

[Tugmistress]

Went over to the Kyle of Durness, fair size pod of Long Finned Pilot Whales with a few stranded right inside the Kyle.

[Tugmistress]

[sandyr1]

Pretty amazing fotos....BTW....who are the people in the foto?? s

[Tugmistress]

i have no idea who most of them are except i seem to recognise the guy with the bald head between the mum and calf, and audrey gunn from sspca balmore at mums head.

Just found out that about another 30 from the main pod have stranded on a small beach a little further up the Kyle where they were put for relative safety due to the tide going out

More info here

[sandyr1]

Some years ago whilst off Bermuda, approx 600 miles East of New York in a 34 foot sailboat, we were surrounded by a pod and it was quite incredible.
Some were twice the length of our boat and some were quite a bit smaller, likely babies.
They stayed with us for quite a while, altho' we had concerns that they could surface under the sailboat, but they seemed quite contented to swim alongside, and I mean close, whilst they gave us a free shower.....
Truly wild beauty.....
We also had porpoises running at the bow several days in a row.

I am so glad that there are people who help...I understand 'Thumper' does that type of thing....again beautiful pics!
I take it the tides are quite substantial there?

[Tugmistress]

It's an estuary so runs a bit wierd compared to coastal, the main problem is that after a few hours the whales bodies (which are not designed to be out of water) start to get damage from the muscle compression, a bit like we do with a crush injury, and this damaged muscle will start to produce toxins which when the reach the liver and kidneys will slowly poison the creature there is only a window of a few hours to get any 'fit' animals in to the water before the damage is irreversible

thumper has taken over as area co ordinator, a job i used to do a few years ago.

[Mystical Potato Head]

i have no idea who most of them are except i seem to recognise the guy with the bald head between the mum and calf, and audrey gunn from sspca balmore at mums head.

Just found out that about another 30 from the main pod have stranded on a small beach a little further up the Kyle where they were put for relative safety due to the tide going out

More info here

You probably recognise him from sea angling trips.He's been of doing training in whale rescue recently and once you do it you can be called up,kinda like the coastguard i suppose.
He was leaving work around lunchtime today,i thought he was on a halfer but he told me he had just got the call to go out,a very worthwhile thing to do.good on ya Mark.

[Tugmistress]

Thanks MPH, that's where i know his face from