Sad ending to whale calf rescue bid at Fife beach

Difficult decision taken after young minke becomes stranded on sands

Rescuers hoping to return a whale calf stranded on a Fife beach to the water had to euthanise it instead. The young minke was spotted trapped on the sands at Pettycur Bay at high tide yesterday morning.

Coastguard officers and a team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue rushed to the beach between Kinghorn and Burntisland with the hope of refloating the mammal. However, separated from its mother the juvenile female’s chances of survival were deemed low.

Medics from the rescue group tended to the animal but with high tide still seven hours away, they announced shortly after noon that the decision had been made to put it down.

Colin McFadyen, BDMLR north-east Scotland regional co-ordinator, said the 12ft whale, reckoned to be less than a year old, was reported by a member of the public at around 7.30am.

Mr McFadyen said: “It was a very young minke. She was in very good condition but what was concerning was the size. If they are too young they are unable to fend for themselves.

“If you put them back in the water then you get a starving animal stranding again in a few days.”

He said the BDMLR consulted partners, including the Scottish Marine

Animal Stranding Scheme, and it was agreed that the whale was too young to be refloated.

Adult minke whales generally grow to around 30ft.

The carcase will be analysed by the SMASS to determine the reason for the stranding, which Mr McFadyen reckoned was simply inexperience and being caught out in the shallow water.

Members of the public had been asked to keep their distance while the rescue operation was under way and were

“It was very young. Her size was a concern. COLIN MCFADYEN

advised to stay away from the carcase due to the risk of infection until it is disposed of by Fife Council.

The SMASS studies strandings around the UK coast of whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals to build up a picture of the health and ecology of marine life and conservation issues faced.

Minke whales, the smallest species of the baleen whales, are frequently spotted in the Firth of Forth, where humpback whales have also been seen in recent years.

Picture: Wullie Marr. The scene at Pettycur Bay after the death of the stranded minke whale calf.