Another whale stuck on the mud...

[Rainbow]

Stranded whale dies on mud bank

A 30ft whale which became stranded in the Humber has died, coastguards said.

The immature sperm whale became stuck on mud off Kilnsea, on Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, on Saturday morning.

Local people raised the alarm and lifeboat crews, coastguards and firefighters all tried to help the stricken animal.

As the tide reached its lowest point in the afternoon the whale was virtually clear of the water. Some reports said it had a large gash on its side.

A Humber Coastguard spokeswoman said arrangements were being made for the whale's carcass to be removed.

The local lifeboat crew and residents said the animal could be seen struggling to free itself before the water levels dropped.

Lifeboat coxswain Dave Steenvorden said the water was too shallow to launch his boat.

One Kilnsea resident said: "It just seems to have come up the estuary and got itself stuck.

"Mid morning it was moving around - flapping and trying to get itself free. You could see it clearly, blowing from its air hole.

"Everyone came out to have a look but there's nothing much anyone could do. It's quite sad really."

Crowds

A crowd of people gathered close to watch the rescue attempts as expert teams travelled to the scene from around the country.

Among those assisting was the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation which was involved in the operation to release the whale stuck in the River Thames in central London last month.

The group said on its website that the whale in the Humber was female and had not been injured.

It said the whale's blowhole was about 2ft under the surface of the mud after it had dug itself in while thrashing around.

In 1997, two sperm whales became trapped in the Humber a short distance from Saturday's incident.

[Bowwowmeow]

If this has happened more than once I wonder why they can't put up some sort of grate at the mouth of the river to keep the whales from doing this. Usually, healthy whales don't do this, only the sick or dying ones, but still it would be better for them to die out in the sea away from all the curious people.

Years ago when a blue whale had washed up onto the beach, people were allowing children to climb upon the corpse and jump around on it. I remember wishing that those kids would find a soft spot and just plunge right into the rotting mass. :devil2:

I have seen one wild whale in the ocean. We were driving along the coast when I noticed a large rocky outcropping where there never was one before. As I puzzled over it it sank, and a huge fountain sprang up. I realized it was a whale spraying water from its blowhole and I shouted "Stop stop its a whale!" My mom just kept driving! :tantrum:
I did get to see its tail before we got too far away. It was quite a thrill!

[IndyVegan]

Sad.

[Rainbow]

About a week ago there was a similar case of a whale stuck in the River Thames, a very costly and unsuccessful attempt was made to save it.

Lost whale dies after rescue bid

A whale that became stranded in the River Thames has died after a massive rescue attempt to save its life.
The 18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale was first spotted in the river on Friday and rescuers began an attempt to save it on Saturday morning.

But the whale died at about 1900 GMT on Saturday as rescuers transported it on a barge towards deeper water in the Thames Estuary.

It was moved after being placed in a special pontoon near Battersea Bridge.

Alan Knight, from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) which led the rescue operation, said the animal died after it began to convulse while it was still on the barge.

"It has been a helter skelter ride all the way through. It is a sad end to a very long day," he said.

"Basically this is probably the right thing to happen in the end.

"If it had continued in this way we certainly wouldn't have released it.

"Perhaps this has saved that very difficult decision."

Earlier, close to Battersea Bridge, thousands of onlookers applauded as rescuers placed the whale on to a pontoon to move it from shallow water.

It was winched on to the Port of London Authority barge where it was laid on an inflatable raft functioning as a "makeshift whale mattress".

As the whale was carried downstream towards the estuary a vet administered antibiotics.

Earlier, naturalist and television presenter, Terry Nutkins, said the rescue operation was the wrong thing to do and that the animal needed space.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "It wouldn't know what was happening, it was surrounded by boats...it would have been absolutely terrified as well as being stressed because it wouldn't be used to noises of propellers or engines.

"It was kept...like a goldfish in a bowl. So, it doesn't surprise me that it's died."

However, he later concluded he had "no doubts" the rescue operation had been the best way to try to save the whale.

Pod spotted

"You can't leave a whale stranded in the Thames and we did the best we could," he added.

The whale, which could weigh about four tonnes, was first spotted at on Friday morning by a man on a train.

There were reports of a pod of whales in the Thames estuary earlier in the week, and it was possible that the whale had become separated from this group.

It was the first sighting of the endangered species in the Thames since records began nearly a century ago.