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AT LEAST SIX whales that were stranded on a beach in Donegal today have died, with all of the whales expected to be dead by morning.
A group of northern bottlenose whales were found stranded at Rosnowlagh beach in Donegal earlier today, around 19km north of Bundoran.
Three whales were stranded on the beach, with at least another four identified as stranded in the shallow water of the bay.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has been providing first aid to the whales on the beach, but most of them have died.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for IWDG said that “there was one alive who did swim out, but it’s most likely going to restrand”.
“I would say by the morning they will all be dead, which is expected. These are an offshore species,” he said.
The IWDG still has team members on the shore, but as the tide comes in, there is little they can do for the whales.
“We’re all meeting in the morning up in Rosnowlagh with the Council and the Wildlife Service where they will be recovered by Donegal County Council.”
Researchers will use samples from whales to learn more about the species, which are rarely seen in Ireland.
Earlier today, the IWDG shared a video on social media outlining the likely outcome for the whales.
“We had a phone call first thing this morning about live stranded whales up in Rosknowlagh in Co Donegal in Donegal Bay,” IWDG CEO Simon Berrow said in the video.
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group / Twitter
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group / Twitter / Twitter
“There were reports of 7-8 bottlenose dolphins, which we thought was strange because bottlenose dolphins don’t really live-mass strand,” Berrow said.
“But we got a video from tourists on the beach of northern bottlenose whales. These are a very very big offshore species,” he said.
“We know very little about them, but they are prone to mass strandings. This is the largest mass stranding of this species ever in Ireland.”
“To be honest, there’s very little you can do about it. They probably weigh 3 or 4 tonnes the adult males, so they’re not good candidates for refloating.”
“You just have to let nature take its course, provide first aid on the beach, make sure they’re not stressed by people who are too close or yapping dogs.”
“People ask the questions – why can’t you refloat them, why can’t you euthanise them – which of course, are all valid questions to ask.”
Refloating is not possible because of their size, Berrow said, and the team also had to consider whether questions as to whether refloating the whales into Donegal Bay would be the right thing to do, given that they are a deep-diving species.
Euthanasia would also be difficult to carry out due to a lack of appropriate chemicals available in Ireland for an animal of that size, Berrow said.
Northern bottlenose whales are part of the Ziphiidae whale family and are most recognised for their large foreheads.
They usually live in pods of between four and twenty whales and can dive to over 1,400 metres deep.
The northern bottlenose whale is found mostly in the cooler waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
In July, a Sowerby’s beaked whale, another deep-diving species, died on the east coast after being found in distress in Wicklow harbour.
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Poor article. So many questions to ask. Will an autopsy examination take place for evidence of starvation/plastic ingestion? Is there any oil/gas explorations using sonar taking place?
@TheITGuy: Most vessel noise disrupts their ability to transmit and receive acoustic info – in some areas it reduced this ability by 90%. There is a massive amount of marine traffic compared to a few decades ago and the noise keeps increasing with it.
@TheITGuy: The person in the article stated that they are not common in these waters, they know very little about them as a species except that they are for some reason prone to mass strandings. They could have been driven from the waters off Nova Scotia for all we know. Its just a report at this point; theyre hardly going to know at this point if it was sound pollution that drove them off course
@TheITGuy: save mobey’s dhick
@TheITGuy: all info posted by Irish Whale and Dolphin Group on their fb…
V sad. There appears to be quite a lot of sightings of these, dolphins and humpback wales recently off donegal
@Peter McGlynn: most sightings haven’t been sad thankfully!
Poor creatures RIP
Heartbreaking.
Very sad. Have been watching the pod off the coast of Bundoran for the past few days near where people fish off the rocks. Presumed they were in the area due to fish in the area.
@Rab C Nesbitt: we were watching them from Creevy pier on Sat evening- wonderful sight. Sad to read this
Probably starving to death after having their insides blocked up with plastic. They’d likely drown if they stayed out at sea.
Will they be used for food?
@eoin carroll: no
@eoin carroll: Sell them to the Japanese?
Why could a farmer not tow them back into the sea and give them a chance to live ?
@James Mccartan: in an amphibious tractor??
@James Mccartan: No you need a whale barrow.
@Fred the Muss…: Best comment on here by a country mile! Some of the other commentators here must be getting ready to go back to school in two weeks.
@SandraMeyler: with help of locals in water I’d suggest you id..io..t!
Disgraceful.
@Robert O’H: What is?
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: Cows farting and turf cutting——Must be, theyre responsible for everything else!!
@Robert O’H: this is the definition of disgraceful, how does this word apply in this case:
“Bringing or warranting disgrace; shameful. Partaking of disgrace; shameful; dishonorable; disreputable; bringing or deserving shame.”
WhaleOil BeefHooked
How is there not a way to get these whales back to the ocean if still alive can someone tell me why we haven’t
@Mark Clancy: their own weight crushes their internal organs…
@Mark O’Donohoe: you learn something new everyday
These whales need 1000m us of water depth in order to survive, fishing boats wont fix them. 11 of the same wer found stranded on Faroe Islands only those ones have been butchered. Litreally. IWDG has done all they can within their means to make these dying whales comfortable. They cud of steered off track, it cud of been one or two from the pod came inland to die, another common reason for this, and others followed suit. There is info in abundance on the IWDG page on their fb as to why they have taken their courses of action and all make perfect sense. Death for all, human and animals is eniveatble at some stage. There is cruelty or foul play here.
@Christine Hanway: *No cruelty or foul play
Was there nothing that could have been done to save at least some of them ? No locals to read google, get info from experts and acted a bit faster? Palliative care in the beach??
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