Articles | Rescuers bid to save beached whale

Hampshire whale put down

Published: Friday, 1 August 2008, 10:22AM

Vets have put down a sick whale after it became stranded for a second time on a sandbank.

The northern bottlenose whale - the same breed as the one that became stranded in the River Thames in January 2006 - was originally stuck on harbour flats in Langstone, Hampshire, for around 12 hours.

Marine experts were about to put it down when it refloated in shallow water and headed into the Solent.

Unfortunately, blood tests taken from the 26ft-long mammal showed it was suffering from irreversible renal failure, caused mainly by dehydration.

And the six-ton young adult became stranded again on another sandbank at East Winner on Hayling Island.

Faye Archell, director of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation (BDMLR), said a team of vets administered the fatal strength anaesthetic, called Immobilon.

"The decision has been made based on medical grounds," she said earlier.

"It's the right decision for the whale. Unfortunately, it's not the outcome people would want but it's the right decision for the animal.

"It's sick and distressed and it has come in for a second time. It has chosen to strand both times.

"We now know it's not a navigational error but it has stranded for a reason, it is sick."

Around 50 people, including firefighters with mud rescue equipment, marine experts from BDMLR, Coastguard and RNLI staff are at the scene, along with a crowd of more than 100 bystanders lining the shore.