More than 50 pilot whales have been stranded on a beach on the Isle of Lewis, in Scotland, all but 10 of whom have died.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said it was alerted to the “mass stranding” in the Outer Hebrides at 7am on Sunday via the police.
The BDMLR said: “Our local marine mammal medics are currently administering first aid to the whales, and medics from surrounding areas are preparing their kit and organising transport to the island.
“Reports so far suggest there are around 55 animals; however, the latest update from the scene indicates that only 10 are alive. The Coastguard and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme have also been tasked to attend.”
BDMLR received more than 3,000 calls about strandings on the UK coastline last year but the vast majority relate to porpoises and the size of Sunday’s incident is also unusual.
Scotland’s largest such event is believed to be when a pod of 70 long-finned pilot whales, of which 19 died, were stranded in July 2011 at the Kyle of Durness in Sutherland. A report by government scientists concluded that noise from underwater bombs caused that incident, damaging the hearing and navigational abilities of the whales.
Pilot whales are actually large oceanic dolphins, which are the most susceptible cetacean species to mass strandings.
Human influence on the marine environment – including naval activities, oil and gas exploration, pollution and the climate crisis – has been blamed for an increase in the number of strandings in recent years. However, they can also result from natural causes such as illness, disease or injury.
The BDMLR said: “The reason for the whales stranding is currently unknown, but pilot whales are notorious for their strong social bonds, so often, when one whale gets into difficulty and strands, the rest follow, leading to more of them stranding.”
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A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers are currently assisting partners with a number of stranded pilot whales on the beach at Tolsta, Stornoway. To allow the dolphins the best chance of survival please avoid the area.”
The BDMLR said it would not be reporting the exact location of the mass stranding on the mile-long beach until the situation was resolved and, like the police, advised members of the public to avoid the area to allow those on site to assess what could be done to help the surviving mammals.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it was “responding to reports of mammals beached at Traigh Mhor on Isle of Lewis”.
Since 1990, all cetacean strandings have been investigated by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, jointly funded by the UK, Welsh and Scottish governments.
