A pod of 23 long-finned pilot whales was found dead on the shores of Sanday, Orkney on Sunday 10th August. The animals are thought to have been stranded for several days before they were discovered in the remote location.
Emma Neave-Webb, of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS), told BBC Radio Orkney the whales appeared to be healthy and in good body condition, with no obvious signs of injury, disease, or malnutrition. Tissue and DNA samples will be taken from all 23 animals, but due to the stage of decomposition, the results may be limited. As with many strandings, a definitive cause may never be established.
This latest incident comes just over a year after a much larger mass stranding on Sanday in July 2024, when 77 pilot whales came ashore. Only 12 were still alive when they were discovered; all later being euthanised after their condition deteriorated. That event was one of the most serious whale strandings in UK history and prompted widespread investigation and community response.
In recent weeks, a spate of unusual strandings involving deep-diving beaked whales has also been reported across Orkney, western Ireland, and the Netherlands. Necropsy findings in some animals pointed to signs of starvation and inner ear trauma consistent with acoustic injury. While investigations are ongoing, experts have highlighted concerns around the impact of underwater noise, including naval sonar and seismic survey activity, on sensitive marine species.
The recurrence of strandings in and around Scotland over the past few years has brought renewed focus to the complex pressures facing marine mammals. Although some cases remain unexplained, findings from post-mortem investigations contribute to a growing understanding of the risks whales face in increasingly noisy and disrupted oceans.
As scientists and conservation bodies continue their investigations, the hope is that learning from these losses may help reduce future harm to whales and other cetaceans navigating the changing waters around our coasts.
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