Young minke whale stranded on rocks dies after 'dangerous' rescue attempt in the Isle of Skye

Warning: Distressing images below

A young minke whale that became stranded on rocks has died after volunteers rallied to attempt the “dangerous” rescue on the Isle of Skye.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue were alerted to a minke whale that had gotten into difficulty off the coast of Broadford on July 12.

The alert came not 24 hours after the mass stranding of around 77 pilot whales in Orkney.

Kayakers had found the whale while it was still in the water but seemingly stuck.

However, as the tide retreated it left her stranded on the sand and rocks.

Rescue team medics attended the scene but as the water began to recede the whale began to thrash violently making it “too dangerous” for anyone to approach safely.

By the time BDMLR Medics, Coastguard and RNLI arrived at the scene by boat, the whale was thrashing less but was still too dangerous to approach.

As the whale began to tire further, the team’s medics were able to get closer to her to measure her and determined she was of weaning length, meaning she was still reliant on her mother.

Medics realised that she was also bleeding from wounds she had obtained from scraping against rocks, but described her condition as “reasonable”.

Following an assessment from a head vet, the team attempted to refloat the young whale as her breathing calmed.

Medics realised the whale was bleeding from wounds she had obtained from scraping against rocks. Supplied

Medics placed a pontoon mat underneath her and rolled her onto it to upright her and began to pour water over her to prevent her from drying out which calmed her breathing down.

Unfortunately, shortly after the young whale took her final breath.

The BDMLR said that Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme were dealing with the mass stranding In Orkney but was able to send volunteers to collect samples that will be able to to provide insight into the whale’s overall health at the time of the stranding.

A spokesperson for BDMLR said: “We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved in this difficult rescue, including the kayakers who found her, the local Coastguard for support, the RNLI for the use of their boat and transport to the site, and of course our Marine Mammal Medics who attended and ensured that the whale was kept comfortable in her last moments of life.”

The Coastguard and RNLI has been contacted for comment.