Join Dr Kevin Robinson and the CRRU team for all the latest news and insights from the Banff-based marine research group about their cetacean encounters in the Moray Firth. Hosted by the Banff Castle every 2nd Friday of the month at 7:30 pm.

Cost free, but donations to the charity always appreciated.

For further Information, contact Dr Kevin Robinson on info@crru.org.uk or call 01261 851696

Dates:
28 May
18 Jun
2 July
16 July
30 July
13 August
27 August
10 September
24 September

Disabled facilities and car parking available. Please contact the venue for details.

A bridging loan was arranged to make up the extra £3,000 needed to make the final purchase, so a little more help is still needed to make up the additional funds borrowed and anyone wishng to help can still do so at www.justgiving.com/outboardmotorappeal.  

For now, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE who supported this appeal and made this purchase possible. There were times when we wondered if we'd be on the water this year at all, so thank you for believing in us and the importance of the marine conservation work we do.

With all best wishes and thanks for helping us to help more whales and dolphins!

The CRRU team

International e-bay sellers can also use this link too, as donations will be converted back to UK currency. However, if you are a UK taxpayer, your donation is further valid for Gift Aid, which means that an additional 28% will be added to your donation by the UK government. So fee credits, % donation of your choice and Gift Aid - now that's gotta be an all round winner!

Our homepage will display your seller listings (and those by others who are also supporting the charity), and if you bid or win any of these items, you will be supporting us too. However, if anyone has any questions or wants any help with this, please don't hesitate to contact beverley.devalmency@crru.org.uk.

Thanks a million for your support!

Consequently, we now find ourselves in URGENT need of funding for a replacement E-TEC engine at a purchase cost of almost £8,000. Unfortunately, equipment such as engines and vehicles is typically low on the list of funding priorities for most grant awarding bodies, even though it may be essential to our whale and dolphin research and rescue efforts. Therefore we are desperately trying to scrabble together donations, pledges and fundraisers to help us raise these funds before the research season recommences again in May.

If you can help us, even with the smallest of donations, please go to: http://www.justgiving.com/outboardmotorappeal (Just Giving add an additional 28% to your contribution if you are a UK tax-payer). Alternatively, cheques or postal orders can be sent to: CRRU Outboard Appeal, Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit, PO Box 11307, Banff AB45 3WB, Scotland UK, but please remember to include a completed gift aid form too (download here).

As always, we thank you for your support and wish you all best wishes

The CRRU team

We are currently looking for a small team of volunteers (maximum 5-6 persons) to join us in Trang in southwest Thailand, for a pilot study of the Indo-Pacific humpback (pink) dolphins around Koh Libong and Koh Sukorn, adjacent to the Hat Chao Mai National Park. The tentative team dates will run for 2 weeks from Sun 18th to Fri 30th April 2010, and the costs are still to be confirmed but should be no more than 675 GBP per person (approx 1,000 USD) to include all accommodation, food, boat costs etc (set buffet style menus and shared accommodation in air conditioned rooms based in a coastal nature resort – see: www.trangsea.com – on the mainland in Hat Yao). You'll just need to arrange your flights and transfer from Bangkok to Trang.

We will be working from a traditional long tail boat with a Chao Lai (local sea gypsy) captain in a mangrove coastal ecosystem, which is also home to dugongs (sea cows), currently being studied by researchers from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC). Our goal, to record and photo-identify the pink dolphin population inhabiting these shallow coastal waters, and have an all-round super time together in a relaxed, informal setting with all the usual CRRU trimmings – outings, trips and as much educational fun as we can muster!

This promises to be a really unique opportunity to work with these unusual coastal dolphins and possibly also see the dugongs in their local sea grass habitats, but also to enjoy great Thai food and hospitality and spend some quality time in a beautiful province still largely unaffected by mass tourism and development.

The few available places on this team are limited, however, and this is a one-off invitation, so anybody interested should get in touch with us at info@crru.org.uk and register their interest ASAP so that we can answer any questions and make this a real possibility!

Best wishes, CRRU team

Between June and October we enjoyed the company of over 50 international volunteers – from the UK, USA, Canada, Italy, South Africa, Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Malta, Australia, Finland and China – to each of whom we are exponentially grateful for their momentous contribution to the research effort in 2009. There was no mistaking the respect expressed by many of our participants for our estimable Whales & Dolphins of the Moray Firth project in the recent review, and it appears that we may have some new fans from our expeditions this year too ;-)). Many thanks to everyone who joined us in 2009 and to our fantastic support teams at Earthwatch!

The CRRU gang

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the orca Corky's capture from the wild. She is still at Sea World and I am encouraging CRRU's supporters to spread the message that she should be returned to her natural environment.

A web posting, with a beautiful and very moving video put together by Paul Spong, Helena Symonds and Michael Harris (ORCALAB), can be found at the following link: http://www.wdcs.org/story_details.php?select=514

Best
Pine

Please find below a last minute initiative to try and force the inclusion of at least some protection for seals in the forthcoming new Marine Scotland Act which the Scottish Government is currently debating.

If you could take just a few moments to send a protest e-mail (suggested template below) it might help us stop the annual slaughter of as many as 5,000 seals in Scottish waters every year.

I’d be grateful if you could copy me in to any submissions you make to First Minister Alex Salmond.

Cheers 4 now,

John

SCOTTISH SEAL SHOOTING SCANDAL.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ACTION REQUIRED NOW!

The Scottish Government has made it clear that they are going to support seal shooting salmon farmers and not the protection of seals in the forthcoming Marine (Scotland) Act.

At a crucial committee debate on the proposed Act, Scottish Government representatives strongly opposed moves to keep the close seasons which give seals at least some protection during the breeding seasons. Instead the Government wants to allow fish farmers and others to shoot heavily pregnant seals and mother seals with dependant young thus leaving baby seals to starve to death. Blatant barbarism.

The Save Our Seals Fund, Animal Concern and the Animal Concern Advice Line all called for a ban on allowing salmon farmers to shoot seals. Apart from any moral, welfare or conservation issues the fact is that salmon farmers can exclude seals from their floating factory farms thus removing any need to shoot them. The problem is that exclusion is more expensive than shooting seals. The Scottish Government not only opposes banning salmon farmers from shooting seals, it will not even support a compromise calling for salmon farmers to at least try all the exclusion methods before resorting to shooting seals.

There are many reasons for the SNP Government to deny seals any realistic protection but the most obvious one is that salmon factory farmers, commercial fishery interests and those that work in these industries can vote – seals cannot. The SNP have a terrible record on Marine conservation and continually lobby for bigger catch quotas for Scottish fishermen while fish stocks continue to decline due to commercial over fishing. In Scotland the same Government Minister is responsible for protecting seals and the environment AND for protecting the industries which are in direct and deadly conflict with seals and the habitat which is their home.

The time has come to tell Scottish politicians that their failure to protect the globally important seal populations which live in Scottish waters is a very serious matter with extremely serious consequences for the Scottish economy.

Below are two versions of an e-mail to the Scottish First (Prime) Minister Alex Salmond. One is for people in Scotland and the other is for people living outside of Scotland. Please add your own name and address and customise the e-mail as you see fit. Also please circulate this appeal for action as widely as possible. Those of you on internet social network sites (I don’t have a clue how to use them!) please distribute this message to your friends. Those of you who are supporters/members of other groups, especially the big international groups, contact them and ask them to back this campaign and ask their supporters to join in. Make sure you ask them for a reply – Scottish seals desperately need their support. We need thousands of international protests so that Alex Salmond knows that killing seals in Scotland is just as unacceptable as killing seals in Canada, Norway or South Africa.

Protest e-mails should be sent to: FirstMinister@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Scottish supporters may wish to copy their e-mails to their own MSPs.


SUGGESTED PROTEST E-MAIL FROM PEOPLE OUTSIDE SCOTLAND

INSERT YOUR DETAILS & DATE HERE

Rt. Hon Alex Salmond MSP
The First Minister
St. Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG,
Scotland


Dear First Minister,


We have just learned that the shooting and killing of seals is not only allowed in Scotland, your Government has been blocking moves to gives seals some legal protection.

Until Scotland bans the killing of seals we will ask our supporters to think very carefully before visiting Scotland as a tourist, or buying Scottish salmon and other Scottish products.

Please tell us why your new Marine Act will allow fish farmers and others to shoot pregnant seals and mother seals with dependent pups? Tell us why your new law will not force fish farmers to use existing technology to protect their stock without resorting to shooting seals?

We urge you to bring Scotland into the 21st century – outlaw the killing of seals and give seals and their marine environment proper legal protection.

Yours sincerely,


*******

In addition to e-mailing the Scottish First Minister, distributing this communication to your personal contacts and like-minded groups, please also consider writing letters to the newspapers to make more people aware of the Scottish Seal Shooting Scandal. Anything up to 5,000 seals are legally killed in Scotland every year. With your help we may finally put an end to this scandal.

Thanks for your help.


John F. Robins, Secretary, Save Our Seals Fund (SOSF), C/O Animal Concern, P.O. Box 5178, Dumbarton G82 5YJ. Tel: 01389-841-639, Mobile: 07721-605521. Fax: 0870-7060327. SOSF is a recognised charity: RCNo. SC025489.

The new website utilises the latest social media networking tools and web resources (e.g. twitter, microblogging, media streams, RSS feeds etc) and incorporates a Content Management System which will allow us to easily update and expand the resource “in-house”, to facilitate greater information exchange and better promote mainstream campaign work and leading marine conservation issues.

“Dear Ms. Mizuho Fukushima:

Scientific studies have demonstrated that dolphin and whale meat is highly toxic and not fit for human consumption, due to contamination from methylmercury, mercury, PCBs, and other poisons. Please prevent any further damage to the health of the Japanese people by banning the sale of dolphin and whale meat immediately.

Sincerely,

Your name and contact information.”

Please send your letter to:
Minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency
Ms. Mizuho Fukushima
Sanno Park Tower
2-11-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Japan 100-6178
Fax: +81-3-3500-4640
Keiko Ueda, legislative Aide to Ms. Mizuho Fukushima, Member of the House of Councillors, Social Democratic Party
E-mail: ukgo@jca.apc.org

Understandingly, however, the harbour master was very concerned that the whale was a potential shipping hazard, and it was clear that appropriate precautions and measurements to coerce the animal out of the harbour area would have to be made. With the assistance from a local fisherman, Bruce Buchan, the CRRU research team were able to take to the water for a closer inspection of the animal, and a gentle attempt was made to approach the whale to gauge its reaction to the vessel. However, the minke had other plans, and was showing no interest in leaving the harbour, and even attempted to interact with the boat! With the light fading, the team realized they needed to give the whale the opportunity to leave of its own free will, and so a decision was made to stand down for the night and see whether she was still in the harbour in the morning. Meanwhile, local interest in this spectacle had heightened, and members of the public had flocked to the scene. The CRRU team spoke with local members from the Fraserburgh British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) team, also in attendance, and it was decided to reconvene the following morning with all parties to reassess the situation and form a new plan of action.

Over the next day, the CRRU team engaged in lengthy phone discussions with other scientists from international organisations in Scotland, Canada and Australia, as well as several other UK leading experts on minke whales (other than our own very experienced minke whale research team), who agreed that the best plan of action (if the whale was not planning to leave of its own will) would be to coax it out of the harbour with a directed flotilla of small boats.

On Thurs 2nd, with boat traffic in the harbour likely to increase in the coming days, the CRRU, BDMLR volunteers and colleagues from WDCS worked together to formulate a plan to discourage the whale from its new harbour residence. We had initially hoped to get three boats to try and coax the whale out through the narrow harbour entrance, but were delighted when we were told that eight boats were willing to help, including the RNLI lifeboat and several local fishermen, a powerboat owner and the harbour pilot boat, as well as our very own Orca II. Each vessel was crewed by a skipper and an accompanying crew member of an animal welfare charity, with the CRRU's researchers each occupying a separate boat to instruct the concerted effort which was being orchestrated by resident minke whale expert Nina from aboard the pilot boat. However, despite the very best efforts of Nina and her assisting teams, the whale did not return to the open sea on Thursday.

Once again, it was decided that enough was enough for another day, and the rescuers agreed to meet the following day for a further concerted attempt. Thankfully the perseverance of the teams on Friday finally paid off, and the young whale found its way back out of the harbour mouth to the open sea beyond to the great relief and cheers of all those who had participated in the effort. Even after this ordeal, the whale seemed to totally aloof to the whole incident and the worry and commotion she had single-handedly caused, and simply sauntered off calmly back to the open waters without so much as a glance backwards.

All in all, a very interesting three days with lots of hindsight and head-scratching on reflection, but a really great example showcasing the abilities of local animal welfare groups in this area of northeast Scotland to work successfully together.

The CRRU would like to thank the multitude of people and authorities for their ever-present and ongoing support. We were truly overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm of the local people of Fraserburgh for the safe return of this young whale, but we would especially like to thank Albert and his team from Fraserburgh harbour authority, Grampian Police, the RNLI, local fisherman (Bruce Buchan and others - thank you!) and last, but not least, our colleagues from BDMLR (Andy, Stacy, Tim and others), especially for their efforts on the Fri, and WDCS (Alice, Marcus and Hannah). Thank you.

She was a beautiful dolphin, approximately 2 metres or so in length and in moderate to good body condition, although the trauma of the stranding had caused superficial injuries to her head and flippers. We won't be sure until the post mortem has been conducted, but we believe she may have been pregnant too. On the left hand side of the head, there were a number of possible bottlenose dolphin tooth rake marks, which may have been the precursor to her stranding. Bottlenose dolphins are reknowned for their aggression towards other cetacean species, and particularly for their attacks on the smaller harbour porpoise, so this is certainly a possible explanation for this incident. In 1997, bottlenoses drove a white-sided dolphin right up onto the beach at North Kessock, near Inverness. The animal was refloated, only to be driven up the other bank by the same bottlenoses.

White-sided dolphins are pelagic (offshore) delphinids, and we have only had one confirmed sighting of the species in the inshore waters of the outer Moray Firth since 1997 when the CRRU first began its line transect surveys of the area (in fact this encounter with 12 animals was recorded just last August, 2005). In addition, as detailed in a recent CRRU paper by Baumgartner et al. (2006), only 1 other white-sided dolphin stranding has been catalogued in along the southern coastline of the outer Moray Firth since 1992.

Many thanks to all who assisted in this incident, especially local helpers Graham Cathcart & Darren Wiseman (MCA), inspector Scott Elphinstone (SSPCA), and CRRU and BDMLR medics.

To learn more about the Atlantic white-sided dolphin from the CRRU fact-file section, click HERE

For details on what to do if you find a stranded whale or dolphin, click HERE.

CRRU vet Cameron MacPherson arrived on scene to be met by Kenneth McLennan and Andy Ireland of BDMLR Fraserburgh. Two SSPCA officers were with the animal, which was located in small stream/estuary approximately 2.5km form the road. The report was that the animal was initially found on sand, but had been carried/dragged into the water by the people who initially found it.

On examination, the porpoise was in moderate body condition, and visibly hypothermic (i.e. it was shivering). A strong wind and low ambient temperature added to the discomfort of the distressed porpoise. An air mattress was inflated to allow the porpoise to be moved from the water for a more detailed clinical examination, and to allow a wind break to be set up to protect both the animal and the team.

It was found to be an adult female, approx 1.7m long, with an estimated body weight of approximately 60kg. After palpation of the body wall and closer visual examination, the body condition was noted to be moderate to poor, and a degree of dehydration (possibly 5-7%) was found. Attempts to measure body temperature were unsuccessful. Mucous membranes were pink, and the capillary refill time, although difficult to assess, appeared to be about 1 second. Chest auscultation revealed normal heart sounds with the typical sinus arrhythmia associated with breath-holding. Lung sounds were apparently normal, but an SSPCA officer reported one episode of coughing, with some discharge, prior to the arrival of the other teams. Respiration rate remained 4-5 per min throughout, with normal depth. The only fresh lesions were mild abrasions to the rostrum and the tip of each tail fluke, concomitant with stranding. A chronic lesion was found on the caudal part of the peduncle, possible consistent with an old net entanglement injury, but this was not thought to have been a cause for the animal to strand. An attempt to pass a stomach tube was made, but before a tube could be passed a large amount of fluid was regurgitated, having the appearance of bloody gastric fluid, possible from gastric ulceration or from a large worm burden. A live worm was also found in this material. On the basis of this and the poor body condition and hypothermia, the difficult decision to euthanase the porpoise was made.

As a small cetacean with a large surface area to mass ratio, porpoises lose heat readily to their environment. The harbour porpoise tends to live life on the edge, in a metabolic sense, all year round, but this is much more of an issue during winter when food is scarce. As a general rule, any live-stranded harbour porpoise that is in less than optimal body condition unfortunately stands little chance of recovery after being refloated, as it will be too debilitated to hunt adequately to meet it's energy requirements. Its is a sad fact for the teams involved in such an episode, but as always the welfare of the animal is of paramount importance. The initial post-mortem results for this porpoise indicated it was indeed underweight, with a very large intestinal and lung worm burden, which were the likely contributing factors to cause it to strand.

We would like to thank Bob Reid and Jason Barley from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) for reporting this stranding to us and for their great feedback; the SSPCA for their assistance and support; and the attending BDMLR medics for their additional backup and support.

After a duelling night in the ambulance, we eventually arrived on scene at 09:15 on Weds morning to be met by the local coastguard. Sadly, however, the whale had passed away the previous evening.

On close inspection, the stranded leviathan was found to be an adult male measuring a gargantuan 16 metres (54 ft) in length. Whilst no observable signs of external trauma were apparent, the animal had a blubber thickness of only 6 cm (less than half that expected in a healthy sperm whale of this size). And yet, there were fresh rake marks and sucker impressions left by its prey, the giant squid (Moroteuthis robusta), on the whales head -- the sperm whale is believed to consume up to 1 tonne of prey per day. Bob Reid of the SAC commented that these markings were perhaps the best he had ever seen, and clearly indicated to us that the whale had recently eaten. In addition, its 22 pairs of teeth were not worn away, as more typically seen in older individuals who are no longer able to feed for themselves, signifying that this whale had not stranded naturally with the debilitation of old age.

A healthy sperm whale of this size would be expected to weigh in the order of 45 to 50 tonnes, and this clearly presented a challenge for the authorities in its removal from the beach. Unfortunately, we could do little more on our trip than record a few observations and handful of measurements for the SAC and then just stand there on the remote, exposed Atlantic beach with a familiar mixture of wonderment and sadness of what had come to pass. The whole trip in fact had been a rather surreal experience, and one that left us all wondering just what we would have done from a veterinary perspective if the animal was still alive on our arrival.

It later emerged that this Lewis sperm whale was in fact the largest stranded individual that had ever been recorded for the species in Scottish waters. Upon its removal from the bay, it was found to weigh a massive 57 tonnes. The photos below give an indication of the whale's colossal size next to CRRU vet Cameron & vet nurse Caroline.

The CRRU would like to thank the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and HM Coastguard for their collaboration, the local SSPCA, BDMLR medics on stand by should further assistance be needed, and the wonderful residents of Bhaltos Bay who took us in and warmed us up with that very much-appreciated cup of tea and biscuit next to the fire.

Footnote: Sperm whales are known to be very sociable cetaceans. This fact makes them prone to mass strandings, although in Scotland it is usually lone animals that become stranded and interestingly, where the sex has been confirmed, the vast majority have been found to be male. The reasoning behind this is most probably explained in terms of the social structure of the species. The fundamental social group is that of pregnant/nursing mothers, calves and immature animals, usually in numbers of between 20 and 25. Both sexes migrate in autumn and spring along regular routes, with whales in the North Atlantic taking a Southerly route past the Shetland Islands and Ireland. In autumn they move towards the equator, where large breeding harems form sometimes in groups of up to 80+ individuals. In spring, they move back towards the poles, with the males moving the furthest north. Females rarely venture above 40 degrees latitude, thus strandings in our region are much more likely to be of males, which are usually solitary. If mass strandings do occur, it is almost inevitably a bachelor group, as males that are too young to compete for females tend to aggregate in small pods around the polar zone.

To learn more about this largest member of the toothed whale family, see our sperm whale "fact file" HERE.

On arrival at the scene, an immediate decision was unanimously made to put the young dolphin to sleep in order to prevent any further suffering on her part -- she was clearly an inconceivable candidate for refloatation. We secured the scene, and at ten minutes past noon, Lawrence injected a lethal dosage of somulin and barbiturates. The calf died less than 30 seconds later, and her body was subsequently taken back to Gardenstown for collection by the Scottish Agricultural College for routine post mortem examination.

As always, the CRRU would like to thank all involved in this sombre affair: the members of the public who reported the stranding so quickly and helped to comfort the animal in its last few hours of life; the SSPCA officers who provided immediate backup for our medics and rescue team; the vets who were so prompt in their response to this call-out; and all of the attending CRRU team for their commendable actions and expertise on this occasion. Thank you.

Learn more about the white-beaked dolphin, visit our "fact file" section HERE.

SSPCA Shetland Senior Inspector Ronnie Patterson was first on the scene. Unable to speak to him at the time, we contacted Austin Taylor from the Shetland Sea Mammal Group for further information, and were later called by Karen Hall from Scottish Natural Heritage at the scene of the stranding.

It emerged that, of the 5 dolphins reported, only 4 had actually stranded, and just 2 of these animals were still alive. Volunteers at the scene were working together and supporting the 2 surviving dolphins (measuring approx 2 metres in length, with one slightly larger than the other) in the water, whilst CRRU director Dr. Kevin Robinson and new CRRU veterinary surgeon team member Cameron MacPherson talked Ronnie, Karen and the newly arrived veterinarian, Colin, slowly through an assessment procedure and first aid protocol for the patients. A link was also set up with Strandings Coordinator Paul Jepson from the Institute of Zoology -- with BDMLR vet James Barnett being away in Spain, and Ian Robinson uncontactable at the time (thanks Paul for your help. CM)

Whilst the breathing rates of the 2 animals were reduced remarkably and their condition stabilised somewhat by the vet and first aid team, with Kevin and Cameron providing online support, neither of the dolphins were showing any signs of being able to support themselves in the water. The pair were subsequently moved into shallower water where they could be tubed and rehydated with electrolytes and given antibiotics accordingly (it was not possible, in view of the immediate stranding area, to restrand the dolphins).

On closer inspection, it was soon established that one of the animals was bleeding orally, and was also shown to be in a poor nutritive condition. On this basis, and that of the poor demeanour of the patient, the attending vet decided the most appropriate course of action must be to euthanase this animal. A sedative was given and the dolphin was put to sleep with an intramuscular injection of large animal immobilon.

Meanwhile, the second dolphin was returned to deeper water. However, as it was being moved out to sea through the tide, it suddenly put on a swift spurt, surprising the rescuers and evading their grip. It appeared that the animal had in fact been successfully refloated to the team of helpers, and, cold and tired, they slowly dissipated and left the scene. Unbeknown to them, however, the animal in fact restranded on the opposite side of the bay.

Ronnie and the vet managed to get to the stranded animal once again. This time, however, they were apparently very shocked by the obvious stress this animal was in, and a swift decision was made to end any further suffering of this dolphin. A single bullet was shot at a 45 degree angle through the blowhole of the infirmed dolphin from a 22 calibre rifle. It died instantly.

In hindsight, we have been in touch with those concerned in the Shetland stranding via Inspector Patterson, and it seems that all involved have learnt much from the incident, but obviously feel they still have a lot to learn. The CRRU team have subsequently been invited to visit the Islands and offer their extensive experience to the organisations cooperating in this rescue. With the assistance of BDMLR, we hope to be able to better equip the islanders and ensure they have the best know-how possible for future strandings with appropriate public and veterinary training courses.

We must say that this was a particularly valiant effort by all the individuals and organisations involved in this incident. The conclusion was not necessarily the desired outcome we all hope for in such an event, but it was a commendable response to the situation at hand, and a very fine example of co-operation between the Shetland islanders with the very best interests of the animals in their hearts.

Special thanks this end to Cameron MacPherson for expert veterinary advice, Paul Jepson for backup support, and Allan Whaley for liasing with the RAF helicopter rescue team and putting them on standby.

To learn more about the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, visit our "fact file" HERE.

For more information on strandings or to download the CRRU's national strandings poster, with public advice and emergency contact numbers, click HERE.

Ironically the CRRU's boat Orca II (which is usually moored in this harbour) was out being serviced for the forthcoming field season, but with dry suits and ropes to hand we managed quite easily to reach the carcass (whilst Bob Reid from the Scottish Agricultural College was contacted to collect the animal for necropsy).

On recovery of the porpoise, however, we were shocked to discover perhaps the worst example of interspecific aggression any of us had ever seen. Inspection of the animal's torso revealed multiple lacerations and puncture wounds all over the body; the inter-dental distances between the inflictions indicative of multiple attack strikes by one or more bottlenose dolphins. This young female had literally had the life beaten out of her, and these injuries were almost certainly the reason for her death. It was a very sad sight altogether. As Barbi White (CRRU) attending the scene put it, "this shy little creature, that has such a hard time just to survive in this harsh environment, has been through such an ordeal that makes me shudder to contemplate".

Photographs were taken of the porpoise and the carcass was placed into a bodybag, which Bob Reid arrived promptly to collect before we all went our separate ways...

There are several theories for this particular interspecific aggression towards harbour porpoises by bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth. The most consistent reasoning is explained in terms of infanticide in bottlenose dolphin populations. Infanticide has been well documented in this species, and can be explained in a similar manner to that seen in lion communities. When a conquering male lion wins his right to a new pride of females, he is keen to ensure that all of his female pride quickly bear his own offspring. Consequently, any young cubs belonging to the former male of the pride are killed by the new male. Removing the offspring of the lionesses from the equation ensures that these females come into oestrus far more quickly and are therefore receptive to the new king of the pride.

Female bottlenose dolphins produce a single calf every 3-4 years. An amorous male dolphin, who knows that a calf belonging to a female is not his own, is not going to wait around for this female for 3 years in order for her to bear his own calf. In a similar logic to the lion, if the male dolphin can remove this calf, the female may be receptive to him within a month and bear his own seed. This may explain why schools of bottlenoses are primarily made up of females and calves - there are many more advantageous to living together in a school than simply finding food and sharing maternal responsibilities! (Of course, this also explains why female dolphins are polygamous - by having multiple relationships with a variety of males, the males themselves cannot be sure whether they are the father or not, and in the confusion the new born calf is spared!)

So how does this relate to porpoises? Well, results from autopsies of deceased harbour porpoises known to have been killed by bottlenose dolphins have revealed that the animals targeted are of a similar size and weight to that of a bottlenose calf. The suggestion here is that the breeding success of adult male bottlenoses in a small population may be related to their skills in removing calves fathered by rival males, and that these skills may be acquired by actively practising them on the more numerous harbour porpoises, i.e. the skills required to separate a single porpoise from its school, pursue it and kill it would be similar to those needed to remove a bottlenose calf.

Whilst competition for food resources or habitat selection have also been suggested as alternative reasons for this behavioural phenomenon, the latter cannot be explained in terms of energetics, as the porpoises are pursued far outwith predicted territorial boundaries, the chase continuing until the animals have been killed. Out of 410 harbour porpoise necropsied by the Scottish Agricultural College since 1992, 137 (33.4%) have died to date as a result of attacks by bottlenose dolphins. This stranding represents yet another example of the hard brutality and evolutionary pressures of the marine world.

To learn more about the social ecology of the bottlenose dolphin and the harbour porpoise visit our fact file section HERE.

Whilst CRRU rescue coordinator Nick Duthie (also BDMLR Grampian) set off to South Queensferry to liaise with the Forth Coastguard and local port authorities, CRRU director Dr. Kevin Robinson assembled a team of divers and medics to tackle the task of disentangling the leviathan - estimated to measure in the region of 30+ ft in length, and assumed from descriptions to be a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).

When local volunteers Gareth Norman (BDMLR Tayforth group) & Fergus Middleton (Edinburgh division, and SSPCA) arrived first on the scene and managed to locate the animal, however, it soon become evident - to the relief of all involved - that the animal (definitely a humpback!) was no longer entangled and was now moving into the deeper waters of the central Forth channel. In view of this new situation and the now waning light conditions, the dive teams were subsequently stood down, and a collective decision was made to try to relocate the leviathan the following morning for a more thorough behavioural analysis by the CRRU's whale biologists.

Assisted by the Forth Port Authority, the International Rescue Corps, medics from the CRRU, BDMLR & SSPCA, and the "Silver Darling", a flotilla of 4 vessels set off on Sunday morning to search the wide expanse of the outer Forth waters to find the whale once again. In spite of a 2.5 hour search of the area, however, there was no sign of the humpback and no further reports from shipping in the area. Perhaps it had already moved on?

No sooner had we arrived back at Port Edgar though, when we received a radio call from a yacht named "Raving Mad", telling us that they had a large mammal on the port side of their boat at that very moment. Not wishing to miss this opportunity, we asked the vessel to stay in visual range of the whale and set off to liaise with the crew in a small inflatable boat.

Fifteen minutes later and we had "Raving Mad" in our sights. And "there!" was the whale to the aft of the yacht - it's huge flukes raised high into the air as it commenced a deep dive. We immediately set to work, taking GPS positions, bearings, depth readings and setting the stop clock to commence our behavioural sampling. With engines shut down, we listened in silence for the blow of the whale as it resurfaced again.

In the UK, humpback whales are most commonly found along the continental shelf and Atlantic frontier - from the Shetlands, along the north West Coast of Ireland and down to the St. George's Channel between Southern Ireland and the Welsh mainland - and encounters on the east coast of Scotland are certainly few and far between. Whilst there have been reports of this species in the Firth of Forth in previous years, no identification photographs of the tail flukes of these individual visitors were ever obtained. Our identification records of this animal would therefore provide a unique record of its presence in this area for future reference. They would also facilitate our collaboration with humpback whale researchers from the North Atlantic to establish for a start from which population this individual may have come.

"BLOW!!!!", we all shouted in unison. That was much closer. We were keen to determine that this whale was behaving normally and, by recording the animals dive sequence and surfacing intervals, we could compare the collected data with information collated for a healthy humpback whale that the CRRU researchers had been fortunate enough to have recorded in the Moray Firth the previous year.

Over the following forty-five minute period, cameras whirred and chinagraph pens scribbled as we recorded the encounter with delight! We estimated the length of the humpback at approximately 13 metres - a fully grown adult no less - and photographs taken of the whale's tail flukes were found to be very distinctive indeed. Most pleasingly, the behaviour of the whale, or "Beamer" as Gareth had affectionately nicknamed it (after Beamer Rock in the Forth, where the animal was first seen), appeared to be quite normal. Happy in this knowledge, and with confirmations of good body condition from several pass-by inspections, the decision was made by Dr. Robinson and the team that Beamer should be left in peace and, overwhelmed by our experiences with this graceful marine Goliath, we all made our way back to the Port.

So why would a humpback whale chose to visit such a strange location?

Well, unlike the deeper water sperm whale (we all recall the saga of Moby back in 1997), humpback whales are in fact renowned for spending much of their time in shallower coastal waters. Beamer may have come into the Forth because of a prevalence of food, or it could be using the estuarine waters to rid itself of freshwater-intolerant parasites. The Forth estuary reaches depths of up to 80 metres in the central channel, thereby providing favourable upwellings. Beamer was also seen lunge feeding in the central channel (photo, left) so there must be an appreciable supply of food in this area which the mysticete whale is obviously keen to exploit.

With identification records of this individual now in hand, in years to come we may be able to establish whether Beamer is in fact a regular visitor to these Scottish waters. Additional sightings of 2 other humpback whales off of Girdleness near Aberdeen on Thursday 13th February seems to suggest that we currently have quite a gathering of these animals along the east coast at this time, which is very exciting indeed.

Final comment by Dr. Robinson, director of the CRRU

"For the meantime we are not overly worried that Beamer is in any immediate difficulty. Our observations indicate that the whale appears to be in good condition and is behaving perfectly normal for a humpback. That saying, like ourselves, whales and dolphins can become sick or diseased and there is always the possibility that this animal could become stranded. A review of the stranding archives for Scotland dating back to 1967, however, has revealed no records of humpback whale strandings ever occurring in this area of the North Sea; which is rather encouraging at this time.

A comparison of the photographs we took of Beamer with pictures of other humpbacks encountered in UK waters has revealed no match at present. Digital images of the tail flukes and dorsal fin have been sent to the Marine Mammal Laboratory at the College of the Atlantic in Maine, USA, to identify this whale from the thousands of animals on file in the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. As you can imagine, the US researchers have been very excited to hear from us, and they hope to complete their analysis as quickly as possible and let us know what they are able to tell us about Beamer.

At this time, boat owners in the area are being discouraged from seeking out this animal. Estimated at 25 to 30 tonnes in weight, the whale may be unpredictable if confused by too many vessels trying to get close to it, and this could result in disaster for either the whale or a well-meaning boat crew. If anybody happens to come across the animal incidentally, they should make their course as predictable as possible for the whale by maintaining a steady forward course without sudden changes in direction or engine speed. Sailing boats are advised to switch to sails, and other boats may wish to shut down their engines until the whale has passed on its way. Shore watching may prove to much more rewarding at this stage, and we are always keen to receive sightings information from the public - you never know, there may be more than one humpback whale in the Forth afterall..?"

Footnote (1st March, 2003): "Beamer" the 13 metre Forth humpback whale has now been largely resident in this area for almost 3 weeks now. Researchers at the CRRU have been working closely with colleagues at the College of the Atlantic, but have been unable to establish a match with any of the humpbacks from the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue (NAHWC) (representing 5,380 individual animals from known breeding/calving grounds in the West Indies & Cape Verde Islands, and all feeding grounds from the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and other areas in the Eastern North Atlantic (including animals from Ireland, Scotland, the Azores, Spain, and the Mediterranean)) or from the former (1992-1993) YoNAH Catalogue (or what's left of it, as this is slowly being intermatched with the NAHWC), and have therefore been unable to determine from which population this individual belongs. Beamer has subsequently been issued a brand new HWC# of its own.

What is most interesting in the case of this particular sighting, is that the adult humpback is feeding at such a latitude at this time of year, when generally in the winter the species is known to inhabit lower latitude breeding / calving grounds (in the West Indies or Cape Verde Islands). Whilst humpbacks are known to overwinter in the north to some extent, it is not clear what that rate is and to what segment of the population they belong, e.g. juveniles. What is clear, however, is that we do appear to have a small gathering of these animals along the NE Scottish coastline at this time, and it would certainly be very interesting to know where they are coming from (KR)

On behalf of the CRRU & British Divers Marine Life Rescue, many many thanks to all who assisted with the operation at the weekend: especially Chris Still and Anna from the Port Edgar Sailing Club, for the provision of the RIBS and expert knowledge of the Forth waters; the Forth Coastguard; MOD Police; Forth Navigation; CRRU, SSPCA and BDMLR Medics (in particular Elaine, Nick, Kate, Gareth, Fergus, Penny & David F-S); the International Rescue Corps team; and last, but by no means least, Richard MacKenzie and his crew aboard the "Silver Darling" and the crew of "Stark Raving". Additional thanks to the Centre of Coastal Studies, College of the Atlantic, Maine US, Scottish Agricultural College and colleagues at the University of Aberdeen & Napier University.

To learn more about the humpback whale, visit our "fact files" section HERE.

Local BDMLR Coordinators Gareth Norman and David Fuller-Shapcott were scrambled to the scene, as Dr Kevin Robinson (Director of the CRRU and National Coordinator for BDMLR Scotland) talked the constable through an assessment procedure and basic first aid administration for the clearly distressed animal, to make it as comfortable as possible. With Stephanie Castle at the helm, the CRRU team spent the following hours rounding up local BDMLR, SSPCA and Deep Sea World Medics from the Edingurgh area.Over the next few hours, the rescue party gradually grew in number as the local Lothian & Borders fire-fighting team joined the rescue effort. In the meantime, the CRRU team worked exhaustively from land and mobile lines to find a vet from the Royal Veterinary College in Edinburgh to assist the animal.

Dr Robinson's initial phone assessment with PC Dee indicated that the casualty was a male white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), approximately 9 ft in length. The animal had been discovered at 04:30 hrs that morning by a local couple on an early morning walk. Initially thought to be in good body condition, photographs of the dolphin were emailed from the scene to BDMLR Senior Vet James Barnett in West Sussex who concluded that the animal was in fact quite badly malnourished with little muscle tone around and beneath the dorsal fin (photo right).

Veterinarian Maria Parker arrived on the scene at approximately 11:00 hrs from the Small Animal Hospital at Edinburgh Zoo. A blood sample was taken by the vet and the dolphin's temperature was measured. A check was also made of the teeth which revealed that many were absent and those that were present were very worn; indicating an older animal.

Based on these findings, the vets decided that they could not support a refloat for an animal in this condition. However, the rescue team decided that after all their hard work with the animal, they would still wait for the results of the blood results before any decision was made to put the dolphin to sleep, and medics continued to keep the animal in as stable a condition as possible.

When the news of the blood results arrived, however, there was further bad news. Following sedation, a lethal injection was finally administered at 14:30 hrs.

These decisions are never taken lightly, and it is always very hard for all those present at such an event - who have all worked so hard and for so many hours with the animal - to endure such an outcome. However, the welfare of the dolphin ultimately has to be put first.

From all at CRRU HQ, a HUGE thank you to all those organisations and individuals who worked so effectively together to make this operation run so smootly: especially local bobbies James Dee & Raymond Jarrett, the Lothian Fire Fighters, BDMLR, CRRU & SSPCA medics at and behind the scenes, staff at Deep Sea World, attending vets Maria Parker & Rachel Kilroy, BDMLR vet James Barnett, and supporting members of the public! Thank you.

To learn more about the species, visit: our "fact file" section HERE.

The 10 month old pups - Guanche and Majo - weighed little more than 25 kgs (just 1 kg more than their birth weight) when admitted to the Fundacion Canaria Loro Parque suffering from extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration. One of the animals had also been injured by a shark. The pair were given immediate treatment by veterinarians at the facility and placed into a special, temperature-controlled penguinarium home where they were nursed back to full health over the following months.

Three months later, and almost 100 kgs heavier -- and gaining a further 1 kg each day -- the seals were ready to undertake a very different return journey to their Norwegian Arctic colony. Specially designed containers were constructed to transport the fully recuperated seals on a 4 1/2 hour flight from Tenerife to Glasgow. Accompanied by Loro Parque's senior veterinarian, Lorenzo Crosta, the seals then had to endure a further 30 minute flight from Glasgow to Wick, where BDMLR National Scottish Co-ordinator and director of the CRRU Dr Kevin Robinson and team were awaiting their arrival.

The final stage of the seals journey was a short trip by road in the British Divers Highlands Region trailer to Skarfskerry, where a temporary holding area had been prepared by Alistair Jack Sr and his team for the animals to rest overnight. The following morning the pups were fed and tagged by CRRU veterinarian Vicky Balbontin and Sr. Crosta before returning them to their containers for the short trip to Dunnet Bay, just 10 minutes away.

On arrival, the containers were moved onto the slipway west of Dunnet Head where the sea conditions would be calmer for the animals release into Dunnet Bay. "As the doors of the containers were opened, the seals seemed a little daunted by the task which lay ahead of them", said Dr Robinson.

"Whilst the sea ahead certainly looked appealing, both animals felt it might be safer to stay put afterall!"

"Guanche was first to be encouraged out of his container, but he wasn't going anywhere until he was ready. Majo was further behind Guanche, but once he poked his head out into the open, freedom must have seemed far more appealing as he lowered his neck and made a mad dash down the slipway and into the waves".

Twenty minutes later, and with a little encouragement, Guanche was also on his way to join Majo accompanied by the cheers of those who had worked so hard throughout the weekend and the spectators who had gathered to witness the magical moment!

Hazel Deans from the Caithness BDMLR team commented how wonderful it was to be involved in the actual release of the animals. After picking seals up, they are generally transferred to one of the UK seal sanctuaries and that is usually the last we ever get to hear of them. So to be on the releasing end of a project was certainly pretty unique, and undoubtedly an experience that none of us will ever forget!

Immeasurable thanks to everybody who helped throughout this superbly executed operation: CRRU/BDMLR medics from Caithness and Aberdeen, the SSPCA, Lorenzo and his staff from Loro Parque, Britannia Airways and Thomson, Highland Airways, and BDMLR vet James Barnett and Vicky Balbontin.

To read more about hooded seals, visit: www.pinnipeds.fsnet.co.uk/species/hooded.htm.

Sadly the juvenile female, measuring just 1.78 m in length, had passed away by the time we got to her, and we could do little more than recover her body from the beach.

Bob Reid from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) collected the dolphin the following morning for autopsy. Later that day he reported the dolphin was found in good physical condition and there was very little to see grossly. Some damage had been inflicted on the left side of the head, but the puncture wounds on the lower jaw - intially considered to be teeth marks caused by interspecific aggression from a bottlenose dolphin - were concluded to be claw marks left by a large bird as it perched on the rostrum whilst pecking at the head. The fact that no bruising or haemorrhaging was associated with these marks indicated that they were indeed caused post mortem. However, the lungs of the young dolphin were over-inflated and had some fluid present suggesting that the animal most probably live stranded. Very sad. This will be confirmed when further histopathological tests are complete.

The records held by the SAC for white-beaked dolphin strandings in the Moray Firth area since January 1992 list 9 other incidents. The only record of the species stranding along the southern coastline of the Moray Firth during this 10 year period occured in Fraserbugh in April 1995. The present stranding therefore represents a very rare find indeed and could indicate that the white-beaked dolphin is in fact more prevalent in these waters - perhaps in winter months - than previously thought.

To learn more about the species, visit: our "fact file" section HERE.

The huge creature, weighing more than half a tonne, sparked fears for its health when spotted languishing 20 miles up the river near Alloa in Clackmannanshire on Saturday. A search of the area ensued to try and locate the turtle using 3 boats working together to cover a 30 mile stretch of the Firth from Stirling to theForth Road bridge, but to no avail.

It was initially thought that the giant turtle might have found its way back to the open sea, but on Tuesday night Central Scotland policemen spotted the reptile near Kincardine power station in Fife.

Subsequently an elite team of Medics from the CRRU, BDMLR and the Borders Underwater search Team (BUWST) was scrambled, and by early evening the team was able to inspect the animal for injuries. Led by Dr. Kevin Robinson, Director of the CRRU and Scottish Co-ordinator for BDMLR, the team of medics and divers were able to make an informed assessment of the condition of the 1.5 metre turtle in the water.

Dr Robinson said: "He was a very obliging turtle. He seemed as interested in us as we were in him, which was a very encouraging sign! It was a very exciting experience."

"In consultation with veterinary experts, we were able to assess the strength of the turtle as it swam next to the boat, closely observing its behaviour and looking for any signs of physical trauma. We reached the conclusion that he was fit and well, and decided that attempting to catch him at this stage would probably do more harm than good".

Dr Robinson said marine specialists would remain on standby should the turtle get into any trouble.

Weighing up to 1.5 tonnes in weight, leatherback turtles are the largest turtles in the World and sole living representative of the family Dermochelyidae. They are the only endothermic (warm blooded) turtle of all the turtle species, allowing them to make extensive migrations from their warm water breeding sites in the Caribbean to colder water feeding grounds in the Arctic.

In the UK, sightings of the species occur mainly during the summer and autumn months, and are almost certainly the result of this deliberate migratory journey as the turtles follow swarms of their favourite prey item, the jelly fish. People in the UK imagine turtles live elsewhere, but in fact leatherbacks are clearly a part of the fauna of the Celtic Sea, and we may even have an important summer concentration just off the edge of our continental shelf. Records indicate that leatherback's have been sighted in the Firth of Forth before.

Several leatherback turtle sightings have also been made recently in the Moray Firth. In September 2000 an adult leatherback, measuring in excess of 2 metres, was seen 3 miles north of Hopeman, and on 5 October 2000 another leatherback was recorded 2 miles north of Whitehills, Banff, chomping on a Lion's Mane Jellyfish.

For further reading about leatherbacks and other turtle species, the following links are provided for your information:

1) British Marine Turtle Stranding Network

2) The Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG)

3) The Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research

4) The Leatherback Turtle

The CRRU & BDMLR would like to thank the medics and divers who made the operation possible, the guys from BUWST, the SSPCA (especially Brian Cowing & Doreen), Emma Keebles and James Barnett (for exemplary veterinary advice), International Animal Rescue, the Port Edgar Port Authority (thanks for the supply of the rigid inflatables and donated fuel costs guys!), the skipper and crew of "Martha's Boy", the Military of Defence Police and the staff at Deep Sea World Aquarium.

A passer-by found the year and a half-old whale calf high and dry and motionless on the shores of the sea loch. After the alarm was raised, a team of rescuers from Skye was on the scene within 20 minutes. Marine wildlife experts from the Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit (CRRU) in Aberdeenshire and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) in Caithness were alerted and a special floating pontoon was transported to the island as members of the public and SSPCA officers were advised how to stabilise the distressed infant.

The rescue pontoon is made up of a large stretcher and flotation devices that fill-up with air. A team of eight men managed to roll the one and a half tonne whale on to the stretcher and the pontoons were then inflated, while volunteers kept Coral moist and manipulated her muscles, which had become cramped during her ordeal.

A 30-hour rescue operation ensued, which involved getting the young whale through an entire night in a force 7 storm. Then came the daunting task of transporting Coral over 6 miles to the open sea.

Dr. Kevin Robinson, the CRRU’s national director and co-ordinator for Scotland, explained: "It was impossible to tow the young whale on its pontoon for such a distance, so we needed to find an alternative solution and fast. With the help of a local fishing vessel - the 'Karen Ann' and her crew - a crane was used to hoist Coral and her pontoon onto the deck". Said Dr Robinson: "We knew the pontoon would support the weight of the whale, but this was still a very nerve-wracking operation, as such a technique had never been used before in the UK".

Coral was released near to a group of whales, and was last seen swimming off towards the Western Isles. Alistair Jack, for British Divers, commented: "Before she set off she swam round the team assisting her and then headed to join two other Minke whales, one of whom we believe was her mother. We are all absolutely delighted that the operation has been a success".

"We are both elated and exhausted!" said Dr Robinson.

Six Atlantic white-sided dolphins became stranded at Brora on the northern shore of the Dornoch Firth, and the Gardenstown-based Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit swung into action. An RAF Sea King helicopter was scrambled from Lossiemouth and picked-up the team of 10 rescuers from Royal Tarlair golf course for a 16 minute flight to Brora, where they were united with members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the SSPCA and the coastguard.

Dr Kevin Robinson, senior rescue co-ordinator with the CRRU said: "I couldn’t believe we got to Brora so quickly. It would have taken in excess of 4 hours to get there by road, and we are really very grateful to the RAF. When we arrived at the scene we found 6 casualties - 3 males, 2 females and a young calf. Only 3 of the adults were still alive when the first members of the rescue team arrived, but one passed away very shortly afterwards, leaving an adult male and an adult female to tend to, which we affectionately named Bonnie and Clyde".

The dolphins had stranded in a rocky area and had to be carried, one-by-one, to a sandy stretch of beach over half a mile away. Here they were examined by a local vet and given appropriate treatment. Both of the mammals seemed to be good candidates for refloat, and so ensued a long 4 hours in the freezing North Sea waters with the dolphins - supporting them in the water and massaging their fatigued muscles back into action.

"After several hours of attention, Clyde had begun to respond to our efforts and was starting to drive his tail" said Dr Robinson, "but poor Bonnie was not really showing any significant improvement. We held Clyde back to gather more strength and turned him to face Bonnie while we worked on Bonnie harder. But as the light began to fade, and the condition of the female failed to improve, we decided to release Clyde who thankfully headed straight out to sea."

Sadly, after 8 hours trying to revive the female dolphin, Bonnie’s condition deteriorated still further and she had to be euthanised by the vet. This was extremely hard for the rescuers who had spent so many exhausting hours with her.

Heartfelt thanks go out to all those who assisted in the operation: the RAF, BDMLR, SSPCA and the SAC.