A HANDFUL of marine mammal welfare volunteers from Caithness played a lead role in the response to the threatened stranding of a pod of pilot whales in the Outer Hebrides.
The four-day operation ended on Saturday with the successful escape of the cetaceans from Loch Carnan.
It was overseen by Alistair Jack, the Scottish national organiser of British Divers Marine Life Rescue. He sprang into action after the reported sighting of a pod of between 30 and 40 long-finned pilot whales on the loch in South Uist.
They were said to be tightly packed about 200 metres from the shore and showing signs of distress.
Mr Jack, from Scarfskerry, discussed contingency plans with three other local volunteers who went with him on the mission. They were Jamie Dyer, who with his wife, Heather, runs the BDMLR seal hospital; the charity's acting area co-ordinator, Tracy Myers, and senior SSPCA inspector Audrey Gunn, who is also a BDMLR medic.
The team left last Wednesday evening with a stock of equipment including eight diving cylinders loaned by Caithness Diving Club member David Steele.
Video footage was taken of the whales on Thursday and rescuers discussed the possibility of herding them into deeper water as a last resort if they were considered in imminent danger of going aground.
The whales were later seen to have formed a tight circle and were not moving very far. Six to eight juveniles were discerned with no apparent signs of any being sick or injured.
In strengthening force nine to 10 gales, it was decided to suspend operations to give the team - most of whom had been on the go for 40 hours - some much-needed rest.
At 7am on Friday, conditions remained foul and the team had difficulty locating the pod before eventually spotting it close to the pier and moving inland into shallow water. Concern mounted as the pod moved just a few metres from the shore in ring formation.
The video footage analysed by the BDMLR HQ led the volunteers to believe the pod was in defensive mode and could be protecting a sick member or vulnerable juvenile.
There were real fears of a stranding as the pod took up position for five hours between two boats at anchor in an ebb tide.
But Mr Jack, who had been observing the pod from a boat, later recalled: "On the way back past the pod, we stopped as far away as the width of the loch would allow for a few minutes of further observations to try to confirm the theory that the pod was protecting a young juvenile.
"This time the team was able to confirm that there was a tiny dorsal fin in the middle of the formation."
Now confident that there was very little risk of a stranding, Mr Jack decided to call off the BDMLR operation on Friday evening.
Soon the whales started to move out into deeper water and, on Saturday morning, coastguard searches of the loch found no trace of the pod.
Mr Jack said: "This has to be considered as a very successful operation for BDMLR and the SSPCA. We received so much help and support from the entire community that was very much appreciated."
The Caithness volunteers were barely home when they were involved in a mission to rescue a grey seal pup which had become stranded on the shoreline at Dunnet. Along with several similar weekend casualties from North Uist and Stornoway, it is being cared for at the seal centre in Scarfskerry.
Mr Jack said: "They're starting to come in thick and fast now. We've had five calls over the last couple of days."
The charity expects to be busy at this time of year which is the grey seal pupping season and stormy weather exacerbates the plight of lost or abandoned pups.
Mr Jack added: "If anybody sees a seal pup on its own, they should not approach it and keep dogs well away from it.
"If they are concerned that it is in distress, they should contact our hotline on 01825 765546."
By Iain Grant, John O’Groats Journal
| 
