THREE months ago a 21ft-long minke whale was found stranded on Largo Bay beach in Fife.
Trained volunteers cared for her and waited until the tide came back in.
But the painstaking operation took several hours, with an RNLI lifeboat taking local volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) out to sea to shepherd her away from rocks.
It was pitch dark before the minke finally made it back to open waters and safety.
The minke was one of the lucky ones.
Every year, thousands of whales and other sea mammals get into difficulties around the world’s coastline, and many end up dying after becoming stranded on beaches.
Next month, an unusual Edinburgh Fringe show will see people taking part in an outdoor production and getting first-hand experience of what to do in the event of a mass whale stranding in Scotland.
Whales, a “community-building street performance”, is the award-winning work of Binge Culture, a theatre company from New Zealand – a country where some 300 whales and dolphins become stranded on shores each year.
In June 2015, four pilot whales died before rescue teams arrived and three had to be euthanised after becoming stranded at Staffin, Skye, though another 14 were successfully refloated.
And in September 2012, at least 16 pilot whales, part of a larger group, died in a mass stranding off Pittenweem.
That was the first whale call-out experienced by firefighter and trained diver Paul ‘Smudger’ Smith, 51, BDMLR area co-ordinator for Fife and Stirlingshire, and Dundee, Perth and Angus.
His many subsequent marine-life operations – “I’ve lost count, really” – included the minke rescue in April.
“We managed to get that one back out to see using a floatation pontoon, so it ended well”, he says.
Asked why so many whales end up stranded, Mr Smith said: “It depends.
“In the case of larger whales, like minkes and humpbacks, it can be a navigation issue. They’re not used to shallow water – they’ll come in, following fish, and the tide suddenly turns and they’ll find themselves on a beach, which we suspect is what happened with the minke.
“Audio and sonic disturbances underwater can damage their hearing and navigational systems.
“This has been proven in the past with some mass strandings.
“Military exercises caused one in Durness in 2012.
“Pilot whales are very sociable animals and live in decent-sized pods.
“If one of them becomes ill, it will struggle and beach itself, but all the others in that pod will go on the beach as well, which is what happened at Staffin in 2015.
“A pregnant female got into difficulties giving birth to her calf and beached herself, and the others in the family group ended up beached as well”.
He added: “It’s not nice to see whales being stranded – they are totally out of their environment, but we are trained to get involved and to try to help them as best we can”.
Asked if he has ever felt daunted by his first glimpse of a large number of beached whales, he said: “It can be daunting when you first pitch up, because you’ve got a lot of animals to deal with, and you might wait a while before the equipment and the rest of the team arrive.
“But my background in emergency services mean I am trained for that.
“It doesn’t faze me as much as it might faze other people”.
Mr Smith said people should contact BDMLR if they find a marine mammal in need of help.
Fiona McNamara, co-producer of Whales, said: “In this work we wanted to recreate that situation where an act of generosity and empathy towards another species brings out the humanity in ourselves.”
Whales will assemble at George Square Theatre, 12.30pm, August 5/6, 12/13 and 19/20. Between 60 and 90 volunteers are being sought. Anyone interested can email bingeculture@gmail.com or visit bingeculture.co.nz/joinourpod.
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