Stranded dolphin is rescued

A young dolphin was rescued after beaching at St Andrews.

Dog walkers who spotted it on the West Sands alerted nearby St Andrews Aquarium.

They kept it wet and helped staff from the aquarium to return it to the water, aided by two police officers on horseback.

The dolphin, believed to be no more than two years old, was later seen swimming strongly in the Eden Estuary, with the tide coming in.

Andrew Whiston, of the aquarium, said: “We dug holes to make its flippers more comfortable then sacrificed a jacket as a stretcher, rolled it on and carried it out to sea.” years and have never seen this.

“It’s more than likely it has not been done before this quickly anywhere in the world. It may have an impact on future research worldwide.

“It’s so very rare to manage to do this. “The digger operator, Martin Smith, used the shovel of the digger with the precision of a scalpel to crack open its skull in the exact location we needed.”

Dr Brownlow was joined by a number of students from the St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit and fellow marine rescuer volunteers.

It is hoped the autopsy will allow experts to understand how the whale came to be stranded on the beach, which is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and an EU Special Area of Conservation.

He added: “It’s just amazing to gain greater insight into these incredible animals.

“They decompose ridiculously quickly and the whale was already falling apart on Saturday.

“A post-mortem on a sperm whale is just so difficult logistically – the head is massive.

“We will be able to rule out a few possible reasons for its beaching from this sample.

“It can now be analysed for any possible issues in its brain function which could have caused it to navigate off course.

“I want to thank everyone involved in the effort.

“Everyone did such an incredible job.” jkeith@thecourier.co.uk