Mystery As 55 Pilot Whales Dead After Mass Stranding On Scottish Beach

More than 50 pilot whales have died following a mass stranding on a Western Isles beach, BBC reported. The British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity (BDMLR) said 55 of the animals washed up on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

Only 15 of the approximately 55 beached whales were still alive when rescue teams arrived. They first tried to refloat two of the more active whales that were low down in the water on the outgoing tide. 

While one got away, the other was re-stranded and died later, as did three others, leaving 12 still alive - eight adults and four calves. When the rescue workers could not get the rest back into the water, a decision to euthanise them was taken on welfare grounds.

''Unfortunately, none (apart from one that was refloated early on) survived the ordeal - the last animals were declared deceased at about 3:30pm,'' BDMLR wrote on Facebook while sharing pictures. 

The cause of the stranding is unknown but it is thought the pod may have followed one of the females.

BDMLR said: “One of the dead whales appeared to have had a vaginal prolapse – so it's currently suspected that the whole pod stranded due to one female giving birth.

Pilot whales are notorious for their strong social bonds, so often when one whale gets into difficulty and strands, the rest follow.”

Postmortem examinations will now be carried out on the whales to investigate the reason behind their stranding.

Long-finned pilot whales are one of the largest members of the dolphin family, second in size to the killer whale. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, they measure 19 to 25 feet long and can weigh up to 5,000 pounds.