Nine whales were trapped on mudflats off the Kent coast on Monday evening, with four of them dying. The whales were found in the Swale estuary near Sittingbourne, and one was declared dead on Tuesday morning. Three more whales were confirmed dead before 15:00 BST. The rescue operation was abandoned after BDMLR, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, called it off due to conflicting reports of the location. The BDMLR reported later on Tuesday that the whales had become stranded again and were being assessed.
According to a spokesperson from BDMLR, “Pilot whales sometimes strand when one is ill and it could be that the one found died and the others left on the rising tide.” 15 BDMLR members had planned to save the whales, but inaccurate reports of the location prevented them from doing so. The mudflats were located via Harty Ferry Road, and it was believed the cetaceans were accessible via an arduous 1.2-kilometre walk. Rescuers found the access conditions “shocking”.
Pontoons were being prepared from London to enable 4×4 vehicles to transport equipment to the mud flats. It was hoped that the tide would refloat the surviving whales in the early hours of Tuesday. The whales’ deaths occur amid concerns over the effects of human activity on whales and other marine creatures.
Considerable numbers of whales are found trapped in fishing nets, with populations also threatened by underwater noise from ship and boat engines and exposure to toxic chemicals. Wild animals may be affected by habitat changes caused by extractive industries and climate change.
People can support marine life by supporting organisations devoted to protecting these creatures and avoiding activities that pose risks to or harm them
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