Minke Whale stranded on Achill beach dies, Ireland

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Anton McNulty
 
The rare sight of a live Minke Whale stranded on Keel beach on Achill Island came to a sad end when the whale died soon after coming ashore.
The eight-metre Minke whale came ashore on Keel beach near Dookinella last Tuesday, April 17.

STRANDED This Minke Whale was stranded in Achill last week.
It was also reported that a second whale came ashore later in the week on the isolated Annagh Strand on the north side of Achill Island. However details of the whale are unclear and it is not known if the whale was alive or dead when the rough tide brought the animal back out to sea.
The stranding of a whale on Achill is extremely rare with the last reported stranding occurring over 20 years ago. A Killer Whale or Orca was stranded on Doohoma beach in Erris in October 2010.
Orla Calvey, a representative of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) on Achill said the whale died soon after coming ashore and the circumstances of how the adult male became stranded and died are unknown.
“We can’t say why the whale came ashore and how it died,” she told The Mayo News. “It was not an old whale as it was very clean and older whales would have barnacles on them. A Minke whale can grow up to ten metres in length and can live up to 45 years.”
A sample of the tissue of the whale was taken for DNA purposes to record the stranding. The IWDG record stranding details of whales and dolphins on their website and the public are asked to report any stranding to the group
The Minke whale is a common sight off the Achill and Mayo coast and was one of the whales hunted in the early 1900’s when the whaling station was located in Inis Ge off Blacksod.
mayonews.ie

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