Scientists battle to save stranded whale

MARINE scientists and wildlife support groups were battling last night to save a sizeable juvenile whale stranded in a Cork estuary.

The 30ft-long fin whale was in danger of being beached on a mud bank in a shallow river upstream from Oysterhaven.

Dr Emer Rogan of University College Cork said volunteer rescuers were hoping the whale would return to the sea with the turning high tide.

“It’s on a muddy bed of the river and it’s quite agitated,” the marine scientist said.

Members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group together with officials from the state heritage body Dúchas were also involved in the rescue operation.

Dr Rogan, who heads UCC’s marine life stranding programme, said rescuers were pinning their hopes on the whale following a boat out to sea when the tide changed.

“It’s quite large and we can’t use any force to assist it out of the estuary,” she said.

Dr Rogan said fin whales, second only to the blue whale in size and weight, are often observed close to shore at this time of year but not usually up a shallow river estuary.”

She said there were no visible signs of any injuries to the mammal.

However, the distressed whale is missing a chunk of its tail which Dr Rogan said did not appear to be a fresh wound.

The last major inshore sighting of whales were Humpbacks, spotted last weekend off Waterford.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is planning its annual whale watch on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend.

The wildlife watch event provides the group with a snapshot overview of cetacean activity around the Irish coast on a single day.