24-foot Dead Minke whale washes ashore Port of Ness, Scotland

27/8/12

People are being warned not to get too close to a dead whale which has washed ashore in Ness in case they catch a disease from it.

The 24-foot-long dead adult male Minke whale is beached at Port of Ness in the north of Lewis. It is reckoned to have died just hours before its body was spotted on the sands around 10am today (Mon).

Distinguishing marks on a Minke whale trapped in Leverburgh harbour, some 60 miles away, earlier this month, has ruled it out as the Ness mammal.

Decomposing gas caused its tongue to balloon to a large size before it burst. A risk of infection to the public may exist as blood and bodily fluids from the dead mammal is leaching into the water and on the beach it is warned.

Rips on both sides in its mouth has flagged up one possibility of it having being trapped in creel fishing lines. A seal was reported caught in an anchored rope in the same area just a few days ago say marine wildlife volunteers. However, the tears may have been caused by heavy waves scraping it across rocks.

The Scottish Agricultural College which deals with marine mammal post mortems has been notified.

Sandy Macdonald of the local branch of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR Outer Hebrides) said it is too early to tell how it died.

She said: “There are what looks likes injuries in the corner of its mouth but they could have happened after death.”

She said it would be a wise move for people to “keep a distance and not to try and touch it. Keep dogs away and on a lead.”

Children should wash their hands and feet thoroughly after visiting the site, she stressed.

Ms Macdonald pointed out: “We don’t know what it may be carrying but there are stories of people getting badly infected by (decomposing) dead whales.”

Volunteers were planning to secure a rope around the whale’s tail last night (mon) to try and prevent the ebbing tide from taking back out to sea so an autopsy could be carried out if necessary.

Marine mammals which have stranded or are in distress should be reported to BDMLR on their hotline on 01825 765546 or the out-of-hours number on 07787 433412.

hebrides-news.com

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