Dead Whales Discovered On Scotland Beaches

Monday, April 21, 2008
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - The body of a killer whale has been found on beach in the north-west of Scotland.

The 8-metre orca was discovered at Sandwood Bay in an estate in Sutherland owned by wildland conservation charity the John Muir Trust.

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust described the stranding as a rare occurance in Scotland.

Meanwhile, a stranded 5-metre female minkie whale was found alive but later died on Saturday at Brue on Lewis.

The adult killer whale found at Sandwood bay was thought to be a male but has been stranded for too long to establish a cause of death.

Susannah Calderan, biodiversity officer for the John Muir Trust, said: "Since 1992 there have been only 11 killer whale stranding incidents in Scotland, so this is quite an unusual occurrence.

"The last reported killer whale stranding in Scotland was a juvenile in the Firth of Forth in May 2007."

The trust said in the past month large groups of killer whales had been seen around the northern coasts of Scotland.

Some of the predators have been seen taking seals.

It was suggested the Sandwood animal may have been one of a small population thought to be resident in the Hebridean waters.

Source: BBC News