Stranded whale dies at end of painful ordeal

A 50ft fin whale stranded at Baltimore pier was spared a planned euthanising by navy officials after it died naturally shortly after 11am yesterday.

The 40-tonne whale thrashed violently by the pier wall where it had become stranded since early on Tuesday before settling on the seabed. Experts believe it drowned.

Its death marked an end to a distressing three-day ordeal for villagers and visitors who initially arrived to witness the magnificent mammal up close. But it quickly turned gruesome as the whale, whom locals want to name ‘Finbar’, slashed its delicate skin and dented its jaw as it grew increasingly distressed.

The slow death was like “watching a carcass still breathing”, said Colin Barnes, of Whale Watch West Cork.

A world leader in fin whale observation, Mr Barnes said the spectacle that drew hundreds of visitors to Baltimore reveals “no inkling” of the species’ spectacular sophistication.

“Fin whales eat whole shoals of fish at once, it’s a dazzling sight, they are an awesome hunting animal with incredible skill.”

Known as the ‘greyhound of the ocean’ the fin whale is thought to be the fastest whale, capable of slicing through the water at a speed of 20 knots.

“It’s streamlined shape allows it to travel faster than the average ship. They have astonishing perception, are master navigators, they never get lost. So its a very deliberate act for one to come ashore,” he said.

The whale circled beneath the moorings of Baltimore harbour for hours on Tuesday before coming to rest by the pier. There are no reported sightings of others in the immediate area.

“It’s odd that it chose that spot, there have been no sightings of fin whales west of Kinsale Head this year. At the moment they are off the east Cork, west Waterford coast,” he said.

The south coast of Ireland is one of the few places in the world that fin whales come within sighting distance of land, according to Mr Barnes.

Up to 80 fin whales are known to spend nine months of the year (June through March) in waters off the south coast, before migrating to unknown locations to breed.

Poignantly, Mr Barnes buried his partner Nicola Nesbitt last week.

“Having just watched my partner Nico waste away from cancer, this was particularly difficult to watch,” he said.

The dead whale remained beneath the surface in shallow waters yesterday. Plans to tow it up the Ilen River to Old Court before transporting it to Waterford by truck for incineration were underway.

Padraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group planned to take samples from the dead whale for research purposes and examine it to determine its gender. “It was thrashing quite violently, that may have been because the tide was low and it would have been more stressed and it was rubbing off the bottom of the seabed.

“I don’t think it was any one thing that killed this animal, it was a culmination of everything over the past three days,” he said.

Mr Whooley said the event, though difficult to watch, was a positive sign in terms of conservation, as it is a definite sign there are more fin whales along the south coast.

* The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is holding land-based whale watches taking place at 17 locations around the coast this Sunday from 2pm-5pm.

Visit www.iwdg.ie for more details.