Animal welfare experts have urged the public to make an early call on marine life which may be in distress in local waters.
The plea comes after excitement over the unusual sight of a young porpoise in Arbroath harbour on Sunday turned to sorrow when the emaciated mammal died, despite the efforts of rescuers to free it from a mudbank which it became stranded on.
The marine mammal’s carcase has now been sent for a post-mortem examination, which may well reveal that its condition would have left it little chance of survival.
But a leading figure in the group which was at the heart of the weekend rescue effort said early notification will always improve the chances of animals which are facing trouble in ever increasing numbers around the shores of Tayside and Fife.
Gareth Norman of the Broughty Ferry-based Shanwell Marine Animal Rescue Team said they were contacted by the SSPCA after reports that the porpoise was in trouble in Arbroath harbour.
The young animal had created a stir among folk at the marina enjoying Sunday’spleasant conditions.
“We sent out some of our technicians who discovered it was in the outer harbour,” said Mr Norman.“We were in a bit of a dilemma, it was still swimming and we hoped it would follow the tide out, but it didn’t.”
The animal then became stuck in soft mud, described by the Shanwell team as similar to quicksand, which rescuers could not safely venture out on to.
Eventually one technician managed to slowly edge out across the mud, attached to a safety tether.
“He was able to paddle on his back to the animal and cradled it on his chest while he was pulled back,” said Mr Norman.
“Unfortunately, while we were waitingon a vet, the animal succumbed to itsexperience. It looked really poorly, very thin and with a few wounds on it possiblenet trauma,” he added.
“The operation took a long time and our crew finished around 11pm, but we had excellent support from the coastguardand local fishermen with their localknowledge,” said Mr Norman.
“It’s just unfortunate that peopledidn’t call us or the SSPCA sooner. It was quite small and badlyemaciated, so it may not have survived but our advice is that if anyone sees a situation like this then they should call as soon as possible and the situation can then be assessed.”
Mr Norman said there had been a growingnumber of calls relating to porpoises in Angus recently, some involving carcases being washed up in storm conditions.
Arbroath harbourmaster Bruce Fleming said Sunday’s sighting was the first time he had known a porpoise to be spotted in the inner harbour.
Local photographer Mark Caunt had spotted the marked back of the animal as it swam in the water.
“I was just sitting in the car having some chips when I saw a fin breaking the surface water of the harbour,” he said. “It seemed to just be fishing or looking for food in the harbour. It would disappear and then break the surface water again every so often.”
The Shanwell rescue team can becontacted 24 hours a day on 07849 184 354 and at swrt.btck.co.uk.