Heartbreak as 16 whales die
Rescuers still trying to save the rest of the
pod
Sixteen pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a
beach in Fife.
They were part of a group of 26 that got stuck on the shore
yesterday morning.
Three of the creatures that died were young calves.
The whales became stranded in a cove at low tide between
Anstruther and Pittenweem.
Rescue teams, including the coastguard, divers, police and local
vets, battled for hours to save the mammals. Ten were refloated out
to sea and are being carefully watched to make sure they don't
return.
Whales that become stranded can die as gravity affects their
heavy bodies. Pilot whales can grow to be over six metres long. Out
of water, their immense weight can crush their lungs and stop them
breathing.
Rescuers tried desperately to get the whales upright to help
them to breathe.
"We also need to make sure they are kept wet and cool. If
they are not, then they can overheat very quickly," a spokesman
added.
"They have a thick layer of blubber, which is great for when
they are in the sea but once they come on land it can cause them to
overheat and become dehydrated."
Whales can become stranded for a number of reasons. Sometimes,
they come closer to shore to look for food. Often, if one member of
a pod is sick or injured, the rest of the family members will
follow it ashore to try to help.
One expert told the BBC that if the ten whales that were
refloated become stranded again there will be no second attempt to
save them because they would be too weak from their first beaching
and would not survive.
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Heartbreak as 16 whales die
Pilot whale fact file
Pilot whales - like killer whales - are members of the dolphin
family. They are the second biggest, after killer whales.
They are extremely sociable, tending to swim in groups of around
20 to 90.
A group of pilot whales is called a pod.
An adult pilot whale can eat up to nearly 14 kilograms of food a
day. They tend to feed on squid, but also eat octopus, cuttlefish
and herring.
Pilot whales are found in both the northern and southern
hemispheres, in tropical and temperate waters. It is estimated that
there are approximately one million longfinned pilot whales in the
world and at least 200,000 shortfinned pilot whales.
Male pilot whales can live to around the age of 45 years while
females can make it to as old as 60 years!
Only half of beaching cases around the world can be explained.
Some environmentalists suggest that human impacts of pollution,
shipping noise and, military sonar have led to a rise in the number
of whales being stranded.
Breathing problems, such as pneumonia, have been a common cause
of beaching off the northeastern coast of the United States.
Accidents and injury - such as a shark attack or a ship striking
the animals - can result in whales and dolphins beaching. They are
very loyal creatures with close family bonds, so will often follow
a sick or injured member of their pod and try to help them.
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