Minke whale stranded on Orkney beach rescued amidst gale force winds

By Michelle Henderson

March 16 2023, 4:07 pm

The 4.5metre female minke whale washed ashore Waulkmill Bay near Orphir on Wednesday afternoon during high tide. Image: Tom Hadley.

Conservation experts battled gale force winds and large waves to rescue a minke whale stranded on an Orkney beach.

The 14ft whale washed ashore Waulkmill Bay near Orphir during high tide yesterday with the operation continuing until the early hours of this morning.

A team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) raced to the coast where they found the female whale well up the tidal beach, unstressed and in excellent body condition.

Assisted by Kirkwall Coastguard team, medics deployed rescue pontoons to stabilise the animal as discussions between BDMLR and expert colleagues from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme took place.

Medics from BDMLR attempted to refloat the whale twice alongside Kirkwall Coastguard before being forced to abandon their efforts due to the harsh weather conditions. Image: Tom Hadley.

With the tide dwindling, rescuers attempted to move the whale.

However, with a lack of water, their efforts were thwarted.

‘Whale was making attempts to swim’

Following several hours of close monitoring, medics attempted to refloat the whale for a second time shortly after 1.30am.

However, as gale force winds battered the Orkney bay, teams were forced to withdraw to a safe distance.

In a post, published on BDMLR’s social media page, experts spoke of the “difficult and cold conditions” the teams faced during the lengthy rescue operation.

The team from BDMLR monitorered the whale for several hours before attempting to refloat the whale in the early hours of this morning. Image: Tom Hadley.

They wrote: “After several hours and with the whale remaining stable, medics were in position to attempt a refloat at 1.30am once enough water was around the animal.

“Weather conditions had deteriorated considerably by this point and a strong force five wind was blowing straight up the bay.

“Whilst this helped push the tide in more quickly, it was creating big waves so the team moved the whale out to deeper water as quickly and safely as possible. The animal was making attempts to swim and in the fairly rough conditions managed to get out of the pontoons at about 2.30am and the team had to withdraw for safety reasons in the rough conditions.

“She was semi-stranded on a sandbank that the team had not been able to get over due to the high waves, however, she was upright, pointing to the open water and pushing to swim. With the incoming tide, it was hoped that she would get away quickly in the rapidly rising tide.”

BDMLR experts say they feel confident the female “left the bay under her own power” after finding no sign of the whale on the bay this morning. Image: Donna Claire Hunter.

Rescue teams returned to the bay later this morning to find no signs of the whale.

BDMLR experts say they feel confident the female “left the bay under her own power”, although medics will closely monitor the scene over the coming days.