A dolphin stranded in Fife on Monday has had to be euthanised after it became stuck on the beach for a second time.
The animal was discovered earlier today not far from the area it was first discovered on Monday.
Rescuers had been able to re-float the dolphin, but less than 24 hours later a member of the public spotted it again on Tuesday at Crombie Point in Fife.
It was believed the dolphin may have originally become stranded after searching for her calf, which was found dead on Monday.
It is not known if the second strand was due to a health condition or related to the animal’s missing calf.
The dolphin was foaming at the mouth and breathing rapidly in distress when it was rediscovered, and mammal medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity found the adult female’s condition had “deteriorated considerably”.
BDMLR said that due to uncertainty about how long the dolphin had been stranded for, the decision was made not to attempt a re-float.
Dolphin stranded in Fife to undergo post mortem
“When our medics arrived and reassessed her, it was clear her condition had considerably deteriorated from the day before, and due to the fact that it wasn’t exactly clear how long she had been beached for, the decision was made not to attempt a refloat,” a spokesperson said.
“It’s uncertain whether she had restranded due to an underlying health condition from the previous stranding, or due to implications with her calf.”
The dolphin was euthanised by a vet from the SSPCA, and a post mortem is to be carried out by experts from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme.
