6 days ago
Whale calf ‘unlikely to survive' after mother washes up on Mayo beach
True's beaked whale washes up on Kilcummin back strand in north Mayo
The site of a whale and her calf stranding on a north Mayo beach has been described as 'very distressing' for those who witnessed it.
Members of the public were present when a rare deep-diving True's beaked whale washed up on Kilcummin back strand and died.
This mother and calf were seen swimming rapidly into shallow waters just before peak high tide and then beached themselves on the shore.
Unfortunately, the mother whale died within moments of stranding, while the calf managed to swim away.
'This was a very distressing incident for those present, and the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is extremely grateful to the members of the public who quickly alerted us via the IWDG emergency hotline, and to our trained IWDG Live stranding responders who immediately responded,' said the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).
A postmortem led by Dr Frank O'Sullivan of Dublin Zoo on Monday, July 29, revealed the mother was lactating. This indicates that the calf was maternally dependent and was unlikely to survive on its own, according to the IWDG .
True's beaked whales are typically found at depths of more than 800 metres and feed off squid and deep-sea fish.
The IWDG said their presence in shallow coastal waters 'often signals a serious underlying issue such as illness, injury, or acoustic trauma'.
'Live strandings of beaked whales are particularly concerning as, unlike coastal dolphins, these animals are not suitable candidates for refloating due to the distance from their natural habitat, and the high likelihood of re-stranding,' the group said.
'Multiple strandings of deep-diving species in different regions in a short time may indicate a shared acoustic event.'
Last Thursday, two live Sowerby's beaked whales also live stranded in the Netherlands. One died and the other was euthanised after it had been re-floated several times by members of the public.
Elsewhere four Northern bottlenose whales - another deep-diving beaked whale species - became stranded last week in Orkney off the north coast of Scotland.
'While we do not know if these events are linked, multiple strandings of deep-diving species in a short time frame are always a cause for concern and close monitoring,' said the Irish Dolphin and Whale Group.
If you come across a live stranded whale, dolphin or porpoise, call the IWDG hotline at 097 28118.
