Were tragic whales driven to their death by sudden noise – Scottish Daily Mail

SCIENTISTS investigating a mass stranding of whales are looking at whether sonar or another acoustic disturbance could have led to the tragic event.

A pod of 77 pilot whales died after washing ashore on a beach in Orkney on Thursday.

It happened almost a year after a large stranding of long-finned pilot whales on the Isle of Lewis. It is known that on both occasions seismic surveys for offshore windfarms were being conducted off the islands. This process involves firing pulses of high frequency sound waves at the seabed. Dr Andrew Brownlow, director of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, said strandings of this scale are becoming more common in Scotland and it is vital to know why.

Meanwhile, rescuers were yesterday battling to save a minke whale stranded near a beach at Broadford on the Isle of Skye.

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