Twelve survived

Pilot whales stranded on Scottish islands

Dozens of pilot whales have stranded and died on the Scottish Orkney Islands (archive image).

(Bild: AFP/Tamzin Henderson)

Dozens of pilot whales have beached and died on the Scottish Orkney Islands. Veterinarians discovered 77 animals on a beach, of which only twelve were still alive.

"With limited resources and staff, the health of the surviving animals could be assessed and first aid administered as the tide approached," said the organization British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR). The stranded whales were males up to seven meters long, as well as females, calves and juveniles. 

"There are whales everywhere. There is a long line of them, some are still alive." The cause of the mass stranding is still unclear, said Emma Neave-Webb from BDMLR. It is conceivable that one animal got into trouble and the rest tried to help it.

Here you can see a tweet about the mass stranding.

"Must remain realistic"
Rescuers urged the public to avoid Tresness Beach on the Orkney island of Sanday during the rescue operation. Rescue teams from other locations and from the Scottish mainland are on their way. "We will of course do our best, but they (the whales, ed.) have been here for some time, so we have to be realistic."

The scene is terrible and "very emotional". Just a year ago, 55 pilot whales were stranded on the Scottish Hebridean island of Lewis, with only one animal surviving. Pilot whales are also known as pilot whales and form extremely close bonds with each other. At certain times of the year, they travel in large pods, which increases the risk of mass strandings.