Whales ‘were helping sick female’
A post-mortem carried out on a dead whale recovered from Loch Carnan suggests she may have died from an infection, and the other whales accompanied her into shallow water.
A pod of whales which appeared in the dangerously shallow waters of a Scottish loch may have been accompanying a sick female who later died, scientists have said.
The dead animal was recovered from Loch Carnan in South Uist on Saturday night by observers who fear the group of 60 whales could become stranded in the sea loch.
A preliminary post-mortem carried out by Dr Andrew Brownlow of the Scottish Agricultural College showed that external injuries to the whale were not enough to cause its death and found “potential evidence of an infection” in the animal’s melon, a fatty organ found in the forehead.
Tests showed the female whale was just coming to an end of a period of lactation and rescuers said they “hoped that her young calf would have been fully weaned”.
Experts believe the rest of the pod were accompanying the ill animal and it was the infection that may have caused it to strand.
It appears that what has been witnessed is a group of these extremely social creatures accompanying an ill individual. Dave Jarvis
Dave Jarvis of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: “It appears that what has been witnessed is a group of these extremely social creatures accompanying an ill individual and that the infection may have caused this animal to strand.
“Despite an extensive search, there have no sightings of the remainder of the pod since last evening.
“Unfortunately, due to the increasingly worsening weather conditions, it has proved impossible to utilise a helicopter to assist in this exercise.”
At the end of October last year, some pilot whales almost got stranded in the same sea loch. Less than a week later, 33 whales, believed to be the same group, were found dead on a beach in Co Donegal.
Pilot whales prefer deep water but come inshore to feed on squid, their main food.