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Frustration after eight-hour ‘unsuccessful’ rescue to save whale stranded at Balmedie beach

A juvenile minke whale was reported to the Coastguard on Sunday morning.

Stranded whale Balmedie beach.
The whale was stranded at Balmedie beach. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Rescue attempts to refloat a whale that became stranded at Balmedie beach in Aberdeenshire on Sunday morning were unsuccessful.

Teams from frontline marine mammal response organisation British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) undertook several attempts to rescue the animal between 9am and 5pm today.

Stranded whale Balmedie beach.
The whale was washed up. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

They were assisted by Aberdeen Coastguard, who confirmed that the stranded mammal was reported to them at around 8am.

Stranded whale Balmedie beach.
Teams from British Divers Marine Life Rescue helped with the rescue. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

Rescue attempts to refloat stranded whale from Balmedie beach ‘unsuccessful’

The Press and Journal spoke to Colin, a BDMLR area co-ordinator.

He said: “We didn’t manage to successfully refloat the whale as the waves were too strong for her and she washed back ashore several times, so sadly we ended up having to leave her there.

“We’re still in a weather warning area and the sea was too powerful for her in the end.

“At least she is in a better place than she was when we found her – she’s now further into the sea.

“There’s now high tide, so there’s a small chance, and I will emphasise the word small, that she will still be able to get herself back into the sea.

“Otherwise, it is probably unlikely she’d make it through the night.

“However, we will have someone checking tomorrow to see if she is still there.

“She’s what you call a juvenile whale – she’s large enough that we believe she’s not maternally dependent – but she’s not an adult, which may have something to do with it.

“I wanted to thank the coastguard and the staff from the Trump International Golf Links as they were very supportive.”

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