Dozens Of Pilots Die As A Result Of Mass Consistance On The Beach, Due To Strong Social Association?

Pilot whales stranded in Scotland. (Instagram Instagram The Scottish Marine Animal Stra)

JAKARTA - More than 50 pilot whales have died in Scotland after being stranded on a beach in thestyle of Lewis, the country's largest pilot whale stranding event in decades.

Authorities were notified of the incident on Sunday morning last week, at around 06.00 GMT. Attempts to float back more than a dozen surviving whales were unsuccessful.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) charity said one female whale was found vaginal collapse and they suspected that the entire whale herd was stranded after one of the whales experienced complications during childbirth.

"The pilot whale is known for its strong social ties, so it is often when one whale is experiencing difficulties and stranded, the other follows," said BDMLR, as reported by Reuters July 17.

The rescue team initially thought there were about 55 animals, both adults and whales. But then it was discovered that only 15 were still alive.

Just arrived at Stornoway to investigate what seems to be the largest fatal mass #stranding event we've had in Scotland for decades. Over fifty #PilotWhales sadly confirmed dead. pic.twitter.com/bOKTnrqD8l

— SMASS (@strandings) July 16, 2023

Just arrived at Stornoway to investigate what seems to be the largest fatal mass #stranding event we've had in Scotland for decades. Over fifty #PilotWhalesonly confirmed dead.pic.twitter.com/bOKongrqD8l

BDMLR tried to float back two whales that were still active, which were still on the surface of the water at the time the sea receded. One whale managed to escape. However, the other whale was stranded again and died, as well as the other three whales.

At around 15.30, it was decided that the remaining whales had to be put to death on the grounds of 'welfare'.

"At around 15.30, local veterinarians along with coast guard, firefighters and rescues, as well as forensic veterinarians came to the conclusion that the shallow beach conditions and large waves made it unsafe to re-float the remaining animals," said BDMLR, as quoted by The National News.

"Considering how long pilot whales have been out of the water as well as bad conditions, it was decided that they should be injected dead for reasons of well-being," he explained.

"We would like to thank the Lewis community, the Stornoway Coast Guard, the police, theTORnoway Fire and Rescue Service and Shawbost, SMSS, SSPCA, Civil Air Support, CalMac, and of course our dedicated team of medics who have worked together to save these whales," explained the group.

"It's a sad result for this herd of whales and it's definitely not the result we expected," he said.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Sea Animal Handling Scheme (SMASS) said it would begin examining the mammal's body, to determine the cause of stranding whales.

"Over the next few days we will conduct pilot whale sampling and necropsy to collect as much data as possible to better understand the health of these animals and why they were stranded," SMASS said in a statement on Instagram.

It is known that pilot whales are classified as part of a family of dolphins.

In addition to groups of experts and animal rescuers, coast guards, firefighters and the Scottish police were also involved in efforts to rescue the whales.