According to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, 33 pilot whales came ashore on Rutland Island two days ago.
A five-strong investigation team from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, led by Dr Ian O'Connor and the IWDG, reported that most of the whales were large, with just one calf present.
Full post-mortems were not possible due to the imminent onset of inclement weather, but the team managed to collect basic material.
They recorded length and gender, photographed the animals, removed teeth for ageing and took some tissue samples for genetic and life-history analysis.
There is a strong possibility that the group is the same as one spotted off South Uist in Scotland’s Hebrides the previous weekend.
It had been monitored closely there as it seemed at risk of stranding even then.
According to the IWDG, “at least three or four whales had significant notches in their dorsal fins, which we hope we'll be able to use for matching with the group seen off South Uist”.
The IWDG has considered whether the whales may have been affected by Royal Navy sonar equipment, warships having been in the area of South Uist recently.
However, according to a report in The Daily Mail, the MoD has stated that the Royal Navy had not been using sonar in that area and had not done so “for some time”.
Related links
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
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