SAC Investigates Pilot Whale Stranding

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Whale strandings at Durness (opens in new window)

The SAC-led Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme is continuing to investigate the cause of what is believed to have been Scotland’s largest ever stranding of pilot whales, in the Kyle of Durness.

SAC’s Veterinary Investigations Officer Dr Andrew Brownlow, who leads the Marine Scotland-funded Scheme, joined the response to the stranding on Friday 22 July. At that time, 35 whales from a group believed to be about 60-strong were beached on a sandbar. Around 20 whales were successfully shepherded out to sea but over the weekend 16 dead whales were reported.

Dr Brownlow, alongside other pathologists from the CSIP (Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme) carried out post mortems on all 16 whale carcasses. He said: “One large male had some evidence of septic arthritis in one shoulder but other than this we found no physiological reason for the pilot whales coming ashore. The whales had little food in their stomachs which suggests they were close to the shore, therefore possibly not feeding, for 36-48 hours before becoming stranded.

“Pilot whales have a complex social structure and if a sick or injured member of the pod strays off course the whole pod has been known to follow. It is possible this is the reason the pod came into the shallow kyle. An alternative explanation is they were spooked by something further out to sea. This could include predators, such as killer whales or an acoustic jolt, generated by earthquakes, an explosion or sonar. We are continuing to investigate and have not reached a definitive conclusion as yet.”

More information about the scheme is available on our Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme pages. Anyone wishing to report a marine stranding can call 01463 243030, tweet @strandings or email stranding@sac.co.uk, giving details of the animal and its location.

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