Dozens of whales found dead on Orkney beach after mass stranding

Dozens of pilot whales have been found dead following a mass stranding on a beach in Orkney.

Around 77 of the animals were discovered high up on the isle of Sanday on Sunday morning “having evidently been stranded for several hours”.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said only 12 of the whales are still alive and are hopefully going to be refloated on the tide.

“We will do our best to save the remaining live ones,” said Molly Brown, who works for BDMLR.

Around 77 of the animals were discovered high up on the isle of Sanday. British Divers Marine Life Rescue

“We are just getting all our medics there at the moment, we have got medics heading from elsewhere on Orkney and other areas of Scotland.

“Pilot whales are incredibly sociable and so its possible that one of them stranded and the rest followed.

“It’s the largest one in a long time. We did have a mass stranding of 55 around this time last year on the Isle of Lewis.

“It’s a different part of Scotland – I don’t know if it’s just coincidence. There’s a lot of disturbance.”

“With the very limited resources and people immediately available, health assessments and first aid were provided to the surviving animals as the incoming tide approached them,” the charity said.

“Our team continues to work hard to manage this incredibly difficult situation and further updates will be given as the incident progresses.

“Colleagues from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme are also on their way to begin post-mortem investigation.”

In July last year, there was a mass stranding of pilot whales in the Western Isles.

A rescue effort has been launched after dozens of pilot whales were found stranded on a beach in the Western Isles. Dusty Dudley

Around 55 of the animals, ten of which were still alive, had became stuck at Traigh Mhor beach in the North Tolsta area of the Isle of Lewis.

Highlands & Islands

Entire pod of 55 whales die after becoming stranded on beach

It is believed that the whole pod of 55 whales became stranded after one female gave birth

“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,” the BDMLR said at the time.