Overnight battle on Sutherland beach to save pod of stranded dolphins
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Locals and tourists battled throughout the night to save a pod of four dolphins that stranded on a Sutherland beach.
The cetaceans were spotted in trouble at Balnakeil at Durness around 9.30pm on Monday.
They came ashore about an hour later.
A group of about ten locals, tourists and coastguards then battled to save the pod, waiting for the rising tide to refloat them at 3.30am on Tuesday.
The rescuers also took advice from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) by telephone.
Durness local Julien Moreau said it was a long night.
"People did all they could to keep the dolphins alive. They were very large. It was quite an effort. We had to wait for the tide to rise and then refloat them. They all swam away and have not been seen since. We hope it stays that way," he said.
A spokesperson for British Divers Marine Life Rescue said the four white beaked dolphins measuring from around 2m, were all stranded on their sides about 20m from the water on an outgoing tide.
"With information and photos supplied by the members of public on scene, our rescue coordinator was able to identify and assess the animals, and arrange for immediate assistance," she said.
"The Durness coastguard team was tasked to provide safety support for the members of public who were already with the animals, while BDMLR marine mammal medics were dispatched from the Caithness and Cromarty area.
"While waiting for medics to arrive, the coastguard and members of public were able to support the animals in an upright position, and cover their bodies with wet sheets to prevent them drying out.
"Their breathing rate was monitored and they were checked for obvious injuries and signs of malnutrition. The animals appeared to be strong and in a good nutritional state, with just a small amount of blood in the water surrounding one animal, thought to be coming from minor stranding wounds.
"At 2.30am our medics arrived with additional equipment to aid a refloat attempt, and with the water now reaching the animals and the beach starting to flood quickly, they were reintroduced to the water and by 2.50am all four animals were out of site.
"A search of the local vicinity followed to make sure that they hadn’t re-stranded, and once the all clear was given, all teams were stood down.
"Thank you to HM Coastguard Durness for their support, local environmental group Plastic@Bay, BDMLR medics Phillip and Clare Boardman, Gordie Bryce, Tom Bannerman and Ludo Van Muysen, and Noel Hawkins and Colin McFadyen for their telephone support."
A pod of pilot whales stranded in July, 2011, at the Kyle of Durness in what is believed to have been Scotland's largest ever such event. Some 19 of the 70 whales died.
Four large bombs exploded underwater by the Royal Navy were later blamed by government scientists for the mass stranding.
A long-delayed report by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said that the noise from the explosions could have damaged the hearing and navigational abilities of the whales, causing them to beach and die.
It is also thought that the sonar waves can frighten deep-diving whales, forcing them to surface too quickly and leading to symptoms similar to decompression sickness, also known as the bends, in humans.
But a spokesman for the MoD has said the Navy does all it can to ensure sonar is not damaging marine life.
