Whale Stranded in Scottish Harbour, Rescuers Hopeful
Date: 06-Aug-07
Country: UK
Author: Simon Rabinovitch
Hundreds of well-wishers have gathered on the edge of Fraseburgh Harbour in northeast Scotland to watch efforts to save the five-metre mammal, the latest in a series of whales to become stranded on the British coastline.
"The animal appears to be in reasonable condition although it won't be feeding where it is, which means slowly it will lose condition over a period of days," said Tony Woodley of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which is leading the rescue team.
To avoid stressing the whale, estimated to be at least five months old, rescuers have been using hands-off techniques.
Underwater speakers playing sounds of other minke whales may be tried on Friday to lure the trapped mammal out to sea, Woodley said.
On Thursday, rescuers tapped on hollow metal poles to create a wall of sound behind the mammal and herd it towards the harbour mouth, which the whale approached before turning back.
Several by-standers have also jumped into the harbour to try to swim the whale to freedom.
Woodley said that while people were understandably emotional on seeing the beleaguered whale, such amateur attempts to help could inadvertently harm it.
"And if you are going to start tussling with five metres of whale, you could end up being very seriously injured," he added.
Four other whales have been stranded in UK rivers or on its coastline in the past 18 months, most famously one that swam up the River Thames to London.
All have died, but all have been bottlenose whales which are naturally resident in waters further off the British coast than are the minke species.
"Once this animal is out of the harbour, it is back into its environment, and so that's why we are more hopeful," Woodley said.
He said increasing levels of noise and ship traffic in the North Sea could help explain the growing number of whale strandings in Britain.
