Stranded whale died despite marine rescue effort

Two silver 'Wildlife Ambulance' vans parked near the coast. You can see a woman sitting in the driver's seat of the van which is closest to the camera.Image source, Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue
Image caption,

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue worked with British Divers Marine Life Rescue to try to save the whale

  • Published

A whale died after it became stranded along a stretch of the Lincolnshire coastline.

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue (CWR) received a report that the pilot whale was stranded near Stallingborough and Immingham on Wednesday.

After volunteers were dispatched to the scene, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were called for extra support, but the whale sadly died.

BDMLR said it was "glad the whale didn't suffer for long in such awful conditions".

'Sad end'

Upon arrival, CWR said the whale was still alive, but sinking mud meant it was unsafe for the volunteers to approach the animal.

BDMLR were then provided with the location, videos and respiratory counts until its medics arrived.

Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the whale did not survive the stranding, CWR said.

"Although this is a sad end, we would like to thank our volunteers for their help and assistance, Cleethorpes Coastguard, Humberside Fire and Rescue, as well as BDMLR for their prompt response," CWR said.

BDMLR commented on CWR's social media post, stating: "The information your team provided was invaluable and the vehicle parked strategically to help locate the spot was fantastic, too.

"Very sad though inevitable outcome, and glad that the whale didn't suffer for long in such awful conditions.

"Keep up the fantastic work as always, and hopefully no further whales follow."

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