By Isle of Wight Observer
A gallant attempt by passers-by failed to save a stranded whale on a beach between Brook and Brighstone, on Saturday morning.
The whale was found by dog walker, Nick Kennedy, and an appeal was put out on social media, with Paul saying: “I was called because I have a little bit of experience, as I helped refloat pilot whales back in New Zealand in 1993.
“Sienna and I grabbed buckets, towels and blankets and headed over to see if we could help. There were two gentlemen who had been walking their dogs, and were already with the whale.
“It was a long-finned pilot whale and was in the shallows with the tide coming in. They said it had tried to swim but kept rolling over. It had probably been beached for some time, and its balance was gone. This is dangerous as they will just roll over and drown.
“We concentrated on trying to keep it upright so it could breathe. Eventually, the others got very cold, as I was the only one in a wetsuit, while they were in their very wet and cold clothes.
“On my own, trying to keep the whale upright, was extremely difficult and we were also drifting towards the rocks. The whale at this point seemed to still have energy and would try and swim, but immediately rolled over, straining to lift its head up sideways to breath.
“Then, two of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue arrived, and rushed straight in to help. HM Coastguard, from the Needles Coastguard Rescue Team and Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team also joined us to help with Freshwater Independent Lifeboat offshore.
“When the vet arrived, the whale was brought to shore to be accessed. Sadly it was decided it was too poorly and had to be put to sleep. Thank you to everyone who helped today. A very sad end but I met some amazing people.”
The public were warned to stay away from the beach for health and safety reasons, while attempts were made to recover the whale, with a high tide making it impossible on Saturday.
An IW Council spokesman confirmed: “The pilot whale was successfully recovered by our team on Sunday morning. The whale was located in a difficult-to-reach beach area. The contractor was able to recover the whale, and transport it up the beach to an accessible location.
“The whale will now be transported to the mainland, and transferred to the cetacean stranding investigation project, who will be investigating this sad stranding alongside two others in Essex. An investigator from The National Zoological Society will keep the council updated on the outcome of the investigation.”