The pilot whales rescued after a mass beaching in Fife at the weekend are being monitored to check they don’t return to shore.
Seventeen of the 27 pilot whales washed up between the East Neuk villages of Pittenweem and Anstruther on Sunday morning died and teams of experts spent several hours trying to coax the rest back out to sea.
Forth Coastguard was called out at around 7.30am after a dog walker reported seeing around 10 dolphins stranded on the rocky beach.
It was soon ascertained that the mammals were, in fact, whales, most of which were about 20ft long, although three were young calves.
Efforts to refloat them began by mid-afternoon and attempts were made to get the whales on to inflatable pontoons before they were towed out to sea by the lifeboat.
At one point seven people were in the water around one of the animals that was facing inland. It was resisting efforts to turn it around to persuade it out to sea and continually turned back towards the coast.
The crowds of people along the coastal path were willing the rescuers on.
Jill Brown, from Kirkcaldy, said she had heard about the incident on the news.
”It’s so sad for the whales but well done to everyone helping,” she said. ”They’ve been brilliant.”
Bill Davidson, from Glenrothes, said: ”This has been quite an effort. I hope they manage to get the rest of them back where they belong.”
The rescue bid continued into the early evening by which time a number of whales had been successfully refloated. The teams remained on standby due to the risk that some may come back ashore.
The problem of what to do with the dead whales on the beach remains. Student vets from the Royal Dick College were preparing to remove part of the ear bones for autopsy.
The remaining carcasses then become Fife Council’s responsibility. It is thought they will be dumped in landfill.
Mr Tough, other coastguards and the lifeboat crew all praised the many generous local folk who made the long, arduous operation a bit easier for the team.
The Co-op store in Anstruther donated several crates of bottled water and dozens of bananas, while people handed over food, drinks, blankets and windbreaks.
”They’ve been absolutely brilliant,” said the station officer. ”We all want to thank them because it’s really helped us.”