Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Six-hour rescue operation to save stranded minke whale from Fife beach fails

BDMLR operation co-ordinator Paul Smith with the minke whale.
BDMLR operation co-ordinator Paul Smith with the minke whale.

The desperate rescue attempt of a minke whale stranded on a Fife beach has come to a tragic end with the mammal having to be humanely killed.

A six hour multi-agency operation involving British Divers Marine Life Rescue, BDMLR, the coastguard, Police Scotland and Scottish SPCA, was brought to a sad conclusion shortly after 3pm on Saturday when a trained marksman ended the whale’s misery.

Volunteers had worked throughout the day at the beach in Dalgety Bay to try and re-float the 3.7mtr long minke calf, thought to be less than a year old.

Attempts to guide the whale to safer waters lasted for more than six hours.

While the immediate beach area was cordoned off, scores of onlookers watched from higher ground as the rescue efforts continued.

Attempts to allow the whale to regain its strength before trying to direct it to deeper water within the Forth were unsuccessful.

With no signs of the whale’s recovery an following veterinary advice, the difficult decision was made on euthanasia.

‘The minke was in a difficult situation’

Paul Smith, BDMLR co-ordinator, said it had been a difficult decision to have to take  but with no sign of the calf’s mother it would have been impossible for the whale to have survived for more than another 24 hours.

“Extensive efforts have been made to help the calf throughout the day but it was to no avail,” he said.

“Following advise from the vets the decision was taken to end the whale’s life in a humane a away as is possible and not allow further suffering and distress.

“The calf would almost certainly still be relying on its mother’s milk and with her not anywhere in sight it made it very difficult.

“It had not regained any strength during the day and was becoming more dehydrated.

“Therefore the decision was taken to bring in the trained marksman.”

Similarities to previous cases

Mr Smith added: “Minke whales are the most popular in British coastal waters and regularly seen here in the Forth.

“This case is almost identical to a minke washed up in Pettycur beach just a short distance away and sadly is quite a common occurrence.

The rescue operation takes place.

“We will now take measurements and make a formal assessment of the whale before it is taken from the beach and and transported to Edinburgh.

“A full post mortem on the calf will be conducted to see if we can determine what, if any, health implications there were to indicate today’s events.”