Medics
attend porpoise - Aberdeenshire
25th
February
On Saturday 25th of February
at 0800 I got a call from Bob Reid to advise that a porpoise had
been reported to them at Rattary Beach and he asked me to go and
have a look. I headed down there going via Boddam to collect Andrew
Cordiner and then we went and looked for the Porpoise. We walked
about half a mile from the car park area towards Peterhead and never
found anything. As it was not long since high tide we feared that
the porpoise had been swept away be the tide. We decided to head
back to the car and come back at low water to carry out another
search, possibly after obtaining help from a local quad owner. We
headed back and about 10ft from where we were searching Andrew Cordiner
spotted the porpoise. We confirmed it was dead and then placed the
carcase in a body bag. We carried the porpoise back to the car and
transported it back to my house for collection by SAC. On arrival
home we sprayed the carcase with clean water and took some pictures.
(Pictures attached).
SAC uplifted the carcase at 0830 on
Sunday morning.
Andrew Ireland
- Aberdeenshire Assistant Coordinator
Very
Old Grey Seal In Sussex
24th
February
[ click
images to enlarge ]
BDMLR
received a call about 11am from residents at the Cuckmere Haven,
which is just east of Seaford in East Sussex, after a seal was spotted
on the beach. Initially the report sounded just like a seal sunning
itself but we decided to attended to be on the safe side.
On arrival Kevin Harlow and I could not see the seal, until we realised
that the wooden log on the beach was actually a very large 6ft long
adult seal - having only been use to finding pup on our local beaches!!!!
We were both amazed to find that it was an adult grey at that, which
we have never been called to in our county. The seal was obviously
in bad condition with a visible pelvis and neck line. The breathing
seemed laboured and their was oil on part of its belly and back.
Photos were taken and emailed to Alan Knight and James Barnett for
their opinion. BDMLR trainned vet Bronwen Eastwood from Brighton
was called and attended on site and jointly the decision was taken
to euthanse the seal.
BDMLR Medics Paul Chippenden and David Clark joined us on the beach
along with East Sussex Wildlife Rescue medics Shirley Clark and
Bill Pike. Boards were used to prevent the seal from moving forward
whilst
I jumped for the seals neck and Kevin for the seals rear. We used
a blanket to hold the head down and I had to use all my (rather
larger than I would like to be) weight to hold the neck and head.
Although the animal initially put up a struggle it was short lived
and gave in very quickly. Bronwin was able to take a spinal blood
sample and then euthanse the seal very quickly and professionally.
We were then able to have a closer look at the seals condition.
It turned out to be a male grey seal. It has some form a skin condition
round its neck with cracking sores. The poor creatures teeth were
very well worn and obviously very old. Its head was massive.
We were
all dissappointed that we could do anything for this mature seal
but felt relieved that it was no
longer suffering and wasn't going to spent the next few days slowly
dying.
After several hours of waiting for the local council not to turn
up, we ended up arranging for contractors to removed the body from
the beach and the council to pay for it. Eventually we got back
to the office about 5.30pm.
Trevor
Weeks - BDMLR National Coordinator
Seal
pup rescued - Dovercourt, Essex
21st February
I had
a call from a member of the public about a seal at Dovercourt at
six tonight, I was unable to attend so got Medic Tony Haggis and
RSPCA inspector Jim Farr to go.Whilst they were on there way there
I recieved another call to say the pup had gone back into the water,
this I advised them of but they carried on to check it out any way.When
they arrived (about 20 mins later) the pup was out of the water
and 40 meters or so above the tide line. The pup was a very good
size and looked fine from a distance they decided to see if they
could catch it and relocate it to an area away from disturbance
and the rough seas we have here at the moment.When they caught it
they found it had cuts around the mouth and some large lesions on
the rear flippers, they phoned East Winch (RSPCA Norfolk Wildlife
Hospital) who advised it should go in. This being the case Jim arranged
to meet one of his ACO`s part way and relay the pup to the hospital.
Leon
Woodrow - Essex Assistant Coordinator
Seal
rescue at Reighton Gap, near Scarborough
20th
February 2006
[ click
on images to enlarge ]
At Approximately 12:00pm on Monday 20th February, Simon received
a phone call from the local police. They informed Simon that a member
of the public had phoned in to report an injured seal half way between
Hunmanby gap and Reighton gap, near Scarborough. Simon informed
Beverly who then rang a local medic to meet us on scene for assistance.
Arriving on Scene and meeting up with local medic Karen Cranston
we began the task of looking for the injured grey having been given
an area of beach at least half a mile long to search. After walking
approximately 300 yards we found the seal lying on a patch of boulder
clay about 500 yards away from the water.
The injury on the seal was extremely obvious even at first glance.
It had a cut down its left hand approximately 6 inches long and
2 inches wide. We carried out the initial visual checks and then
we took the decision to jump it for closer observation and to clean
up its cut.
I then secured the seal for Beverly to observe the wound closer
and to check for any other signs for distress. The seal was an 8
week old grey seal that was slightly underweight and slightly dehydrated
but other than that in good condition.
Karen and I then carried the seal down onto the softer sand so that
Beverley could clean the wound thoroughly. When doing this she noticed
that the cut had already began to granulate so the decision was
taken to re-release it. The seal made a slow but meaningful journey
back to the sea.
We they waited and observed the shoreline for 20 minutes in case
the seal had come back in. Having not done so we then stood down
at approximately 2:30pm. My thanks to Beverley and Simon Drayton,
and Karen Cranston for a brilliant job well done!!
Ryan Walker
Medic North Eastern Region
Grey
Seal pup rescue - Montrose, Scotland
20th February
Whilst
out on a routine patrol today, Medics Elaine Roft and Andy Dulley
came across a fully weaned Grey Seal Pup at 12.00hrs which was hauled
out
on a rocky foreshore in a small coved area and clearly in distress.
The pup had severe congestion with discharges coming from the nose
and eyes. The perineum and rear flippers were also stained with
diarrhoea. Respiration was monitored and this fluctuated between
9 - 13bpm. Being in such an isolated location, miles from the nearest
town, Elaine called Medic Paul Horne who agreed to uplift the transportation
tank and meet us on scene. It is probable that the pup had been
in this location for 1-2 days and would have found it difficult
to return to the sea even if it had been found in a healthy state.
[click
image to enlarge]
At 13.00hrs with our pup now in the transportation
tank, we trekked our way back to the car with the additional help
of Junior team helper Ryan Horne. Elaine had called SSPCA Middlebank
to notify them that it was easier to uplift the pup and get it on
its journey to rehab immediately thus preventing further stress
given the isolated location that we were in. Sandra Bonar SSPCA
Manageress agreed with this entirely.
On arrival at Middlebank at 16.07hrs the pup which
we had already named was given reference number 96 and renamed "Rembrandt"
(current themed names for the seal pups) by the staff. "Rembrandt"
weighed in at 18.8kg and was placed in a dry holding pen for further
assessment by the SSPCA staff.
We have refrained from mentioning our pups original
name and the location found for various reasons.
Thanks to Medics Elaine Roft, Andy Dulley, Paul
Horne, and Junior Team helper Ryan Horne, SSPCA Middlebank.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
Common
dolphin stranding at Whitsand Bay, Cornwall report
by Darryl Thorpe
16th
February
I received the call from Sue at HQ in Sussex at
about 1300hrs. A holiday maker Danny Sharrard, had found the dolphin
quite high up on the beach at Tregonhawke (map ref: SX405513) and
had the presence of mind to transfer it to a large rock pool. He
had no idea how long it had been stranded but high water had been
about 1900 hrs the previous evening & it had been stormy all
night. He gave Sue the impression he had “lifted and moved”
the animal on his own so we assumed it was a Harbour Porpoise. When
I phoned him for directions he confirmed it had a long beak so I
then obviously realised it was probably a small dolphin. I loaded
my Medic box of veterinary goodies (KY Jelly etc) plus my 2 backpacks
into the car & set off for Whitsand Bay. When I arrived at the
small layby I was greeted by what we northerners call “a lazy
wind” ie it goes through you & not round. Being so far
from the beach I decided I could only take one backpack with my
undersuit & dry suit, syringes & drugs, gloves etc. It was
a good 20 minute walk down the steep path & along the beach
where I met Medic Janine Badcock from Downderry & Coastguard
Mark Cooper and 3 of his colleagues. The “patient” turned
out to be a small Common Dolphin between 1.5 & 1.75 meters length.
Janine had checked the breathing at 6 per minute & I was able
to confirm this. The dolphin had a few marks on it (which experienced
Medic Dan Jarvis from Hayle thought were dolphin rake marks when
I described them to him later) but it had no other injuries other
than superficial abrasions on the beak & fins. The body condition
was moderate with the lumbar muscles becoming flat.
At this stage the coastguards were concerned about
the conditions ie wind about force 6-7 with intermittent rain and
hail, high water in 5 hours together with the fact that the sea
in the vicinity was known for its strong undertow & riptides.
I’m beginning to learn that some beaches here are not safely
accessible during the 3 or 4 hours before & after high water.
They got my attention by telling me of an incident in the same spot
when 3 children had been dragged out to sea- they were saved but
the coastguard were unable to resuscitate their mother who’d
gone in after them. I readily agreed that they had full control
in the health & safety department and they advised that any
rescue should perhaps be done ASAP. I then decided to try a refloat
to assess further the dolphin’s stability & ability to
swim. Having left my tarpaulin in backpack number 2 up in my car
we had to improvise- the 4 coastguard lifejackets were donned by
myself & 3 CG guys so we couldn’t use those, so in the
end we linked hands & we carried the dolphin into the sea. As
soon as we got knee deep I was surprised by the power of the undertow
& understood the CG insistence that we didn’t go more
than midthigh depth. When we lowered it into the shallows, the dolphin
was disorientated from the stranding & unable to remain upright,
so we supported it for 10 to 15 minutes. We then let it go &
persuaded it to go seawards- I had concerns about the surf, but
unfortunately transfer to a calmer beach was not an option- the
walk up from the beach to the road was too difficult & approach
to the beach by RIB was impossible in the conditions. It tried to
come back a few times but we formed a line and eventually it began
swimming along the surf looking stronger & breathing 4 to 6
times pm. At this time (about 1530) as Dan Jarvis arrived to help,
the wind & tide were taking it east towards Rame Head, and we
began to follow it along the beach. But as we got near the bottom
of the cliff path the CG advised that to continue along the beach
would put us at risk of being cut off. So we climbed up the steep
path, keeping the dolphin in view for as long as possible. One of
our group with excellent vision was able to see the dolphin going
further out into the surf so we were hopeful it wasn’t coming
back in. We decided to go back to the cars & drive further east
to near the west side of Rame Head to try & spot the dolphin
(from the side of the road at SX422498). After searching with binoculars
for 10- 15 minutes, we decided to call it a day at about 1700 &
I arranged to return the next morning after high water.
On Friday the 17th I arrived at Rame Head about
10.00 & made my way down the precarious path to the rocky beach.
The wind was a little less than the previous day but it still rained
heavily. There were many nooks & crannies, enough to hide a
dozen dolphins, but I had a clamber about for an hour, working my
way west then back. I then went back to Tregonhawke & made my
way back down to the beach there again looking for gull activity-
that led me to 2 dead dolphins both tagged by Cornwall Wildlife
Trust volunteers & obviously long dead. After about 90 minutes
searching the beach & rocks around the site of the stranding
I returned up the steep path to my car, where I raided my backpack
supply of choccie bars normally reserved for hungry medics (see
how we co-ordinators think about you!). Fingers crossed it doesn’t
come back in.
Thanks to Danny Sharrard who reported the dolphin
to Falmouth CG who then contacted Sue at head office.
Many thanks to James Barnett Veterinary Director for being available
for advice. Thanks to Janine Badcock who helped to assess then carry
the dolphin- it was her first stranding & she did well. Many
thanks to Coastguard Mark Cooper & his colleagues for their
help in carrying the dolphin, for supplying lifejackets, and for
keeping us safe in the sea. Many thanks to experienced medic Dan
Jarvis for help & moral support (this was my first “solo”
stranding as SE Cornwall Co-ordinator). And as always, many thanks
to Dave Jarvis West Cornwall Co-ordinator for being available on
the phone for advice & support. Also thanks to those whose names
I didn’t record, for offering help, keeping an eye on our
gear while we were involved with the rescue.
Lessons learned- in
no particular order :
Try & get local advice & knowledge and listen
to it. Especially from CG & RNLI. Human safety comes above that
of the animal.
After using your camera, put it in a plastic bag,
then another plastic bag then fasten it securely in your backpack-
because a strong wind will blow it over into the sand and salt water-
that’s the reason I’ve not got pictures of this dolphin.
In the excitement, try to remember to sex the animal-
while we had the opportunity to do this when it rolled about in
the sea at first, we were more concerned about holding it so it
could breathe. Also try and shock James Barnett by filling in a
MARC record form! This really needs you to delegate someone not
physically involved in the rescue & who can write legibly in
wind & rain. Sorry James- I promise to do it next time.
When talking to the press, be as helpful as possible
but don’t overburden them with information. When the man from
the Western Morning News specifically asked for the names of those
carrying the dolphin, I made sure he got them right and wrote down
that BDMLR were involved & very much assisted by the coastguard.
The headline? “Holiday maker in miraculous dolphin rescue”.
No mention of BDMLR- I tried- honestly!
It’s been an interesting year so far- watching
the “London Whale” on TV up north while holding my 3
day old grandson, the privilege of being asked to help with the
“Maryport Bottlenose” (a day I will never forget), and
now this dolphin.
Darryl Thorpe
- BDMLR Marine Mammal Medic & Vet
Mote
Marine Laboratory - Florida, Release 'Clyde' a Rissos dolphin
Details
via Faye Archell - Essex BDMLR Coordinator
Bonnie
(right) and Clyde in the rehab tank at Mote [click image to enlarge]
Mote
Marine aquarium has released Clyde, the Rissos dolphin that was
part of a mass stranding last July. Sadly his mate Bonnie died last
week, she was pregnant with his calf. She died of a pulmonary embolism
and some abnormal blood clotting. It is possibly pregnancy related.
They have sent a lot of samples out for histology and are awaiting
results. James Barnett (BDMLR Director & Vet) and I worked with
these two animals over the summer and although we’re both
upset by the death of Bonnie it is fantastic to see Clyde being
released fit and healthy. They don’t normally live in male
female pairs in the wild so he should cope very well by himself.
See
info below from www.mote.org
re: Clyde’s progress after release.
[
Previous item in August 2005 re Bonnie & Clyde's original stranding/rescue
- HERE
]
Satellite
tracking maps
11th Feb Dolphin was released at 2:28 pm yesterday about 115 miles
west of Sarasota. He is being tracked via satellite and by this
morning was WSW of Sanibel Island. See tracking map below.
12th
Feb map (close up view - inset) - In last 24 hours dolphin has turned
to the SW into much deeper water.
Seal
pup rescue Scotland
6th February
Area
Co-ordinator Elaine Roft received a call at 17.00hrs from Shirley
Ross of Montrose police station saying that a member of the public
Jane Candy was on the beach at *********** with a seal pup that
was apparently in distress. Elaine along with fellow Medics Andy
Dulley, Paul 
Horne
and Sue Horne arrived on scene at 17.20hrs. The fully weaned grey
seal Pup named "Buddie" was of good body condition but
had an exceedingly high respiration of 37bpm. The mucous membranes
were a palish grey in colour and the pup was shivering. With an
incoming tide only inches away from us and fading light to deal
with, the pup was herded into the transportation tank and taken
to a quieter location. Respiration dropped down to 25bpm with the
pup becoming more relaxed. During this time Fraserburgh Medic Andy
Ireland was placed on standby and asked if a seal pen could be provisionally
booked with Laurence Brain at The Grampian Wildlife Trust. At 18.00hrs
"Buddies" respiration dropped down to 17bpm with the breathing
noticeably rucky. At this stage Elaine called BDMLR vet James Barnett
who agreed that rehabilitation was required and that the pup was
possibly suffering from pneumonia. Medics Paul Horne and Andy Dulley
immediately started a relay to Stonehaven where Fraserburgh Medic
Andy Ireland was waiting to continue with the second leg of the
relay at 19.30hrs.. The pup was not tubed incase there was the possibility
of a foreign body in the airways as the pup was making ver bad strangulating
raspy noises. Once at The Grampian Wildlife Trust "Buddie"
was checked over by vet Laurence Brain who like James Barnett thought
it was suffering from pneumonia. By this time the breathing was
very erratic and we were advised that tubing would have caused more
distress. A course of antibiotics was administered upon its arrival
. Elaine will call Laurence on Thursday for an update on the pups
condition although it is hoped that a course of antibiotics will
help the pup to make a recovery.
Many thanks to Shirley Ross (Montrose Police Station),
Jane Candy (member of the public) Medics Elaine Roft, Paul Horne,
Sue Horne, Andy Dulley (BDMLR Montrose), Andy Ireland (BDMLR Fraserburgh
Medic & Assistant Co-ordinator), James Barnett (BDMLR vet),
Laurence Brain (Grampian Wildlife Trust)
The location of the pup has not been disclosed for
various reasons.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
Report
of the rescue attempts of the Sperm Whale at Spurn Head
4th February
[ click
on images to enlarge - more in Image Library ]
On Saturday morning
Simon received a telephone call from Humber Coastguard informing
him of a large Whale swimming in the mouth of Humber estuary. He
was asked to contact BDMLR in case the Mammal stranded. After receiving
the call he rang Tony Woodley who thought it was a wind up mission.
It wasn't to long before a second call from the Coastguard was received
stating that The Whale had now stranded.
After discussing with Tony and starting to make
his way towards the scene, as usual things sprang into place and
calls started arriving the Office was manned by Trevor and Sue to
assist in the calling of medics to the area.
During the journey
he was able to speak to Humber Coastguard as they had called local
Coastguard Rescue Teams from Easington,Hull & Withernsea to
assist. They were on scene very quickly along with Humber lifeboat.
With relaid information Humber MRCC were able to pass advice to
the lifeboat and Coastguard on scene when able to do so due to a
falling tide and with no medics on scene the lifeboat crew made
in vein attempts to keep the Sperm Whale calm and place sheets over
her and keep her wet, but unfortunately the tide falling forced
them to leave.
On arrival we were
met by Andrew Gibson Wildlife Officer at spurn point and offered
the use of his hut and landline, Andrew was one of the first people
to spot the whale. The scene was crowded with people wanting to
look at the Whale, media had already began to arrive. After speaking
with local a Coastguard officer it was established that the lifeboat
had to move away as the tide fell. Which meant that we had no way
of knowing if the Whale was still alive.
A decision was made to send a team of medics across the mud to assess
the health of the Whale.
The
Whale was on mud flats so after discussion with the Coastguard,
a team of 4 medics dressed in Mud equipment, crossed the mud. On
arrival, the Whale was laid on its port side, the blow hole was
at least 2ft below the surface of the mud. A message was then past
to the shore crew of British Divers and the Coastguard. Informing
them the Whale had died.
A check was made of the Whale photographs taken for identification
purposes and when measuring was done we then headed for shore where
we were met by the Hull Coastguard mud rescue team and colleagues
from Easington and Withernsea. A bottle of water was the first thing
on our minds, thanks guys.
I received a call
from Simon late morning and to be quite honest I thought he was
playing a practical joke. I quickly established that he was serious
and after finding out Si was enroute, breathed a big sigh of relief.
I started to activate medics from Scarborough and Tyneside while
my son Ryan, a junior medic, packed the car. Our journey time was
approximately 1.5hrs to where the whale was. Gary Bolton from Scarborough
had responded to the call out, and as Simon and I had already been
called out to the same place earlier in the week to a sick seal,
he followed us in his car. During the journey I received a ' sit
rep' saying the tide was well on its way out and the Whale had now
stranded on the mud approximately a mile from shore. By this time
Simon, 'Rocky' Clarke, Sue Rhodes and Neil and Lisa Wray were on
scene shortly followed by Barry getting 'suited and booted'. It
was then confirmed to be a 30ft Sperm Whale.
When we arrived there were people everywhere.Coastguards, police
and media, mingling with medics and public. Everyone was looking
anxiously 
in
one direction and hardly daring to look, we joined them. I found
Sue Rhodes who brought me up to date on the unfolding events. It
had taken the team a good half hour to reach the whale due to the
terrain and we were told they had already established that she had
died. We were understandably upset. Sue explained that they were
making an examination of the whale for record purposes. I can tell
you it was raw that day and it was definitely a lazy wind.
After an hour or so,
Sue called the team to remind them the tide had turned and that
they were to start to make their way back. Soon we could see them
making their way across the mud. It was difficult watching them
and not being able to help. Eventually they reached terra firma
looking like something the cat dragged in. They were covered head
to toe in mud but the hardy press that were left, pounced on them
wanting interviews and photos. The media satisfied, it was time
for a much needed cuppa, a hose down and a debrief.
I think everyone there on Saturday were moved emotionally
by the event. It was very sad that the whale died, but we as a team
did everything in our power that was possible to save her. There
was nothing more we could have done due to the locality of the stranding.
Simon and I would like to say a huge thank you to
all the medics that were involved today.Whether or not you were
involved physically or not, we appreciate your commitment and moral
support. We would also like to thank Andrew Gibson for his help
and a special thankyou to Humber Coastguard, Coastguard teams on
scene and The Humber Life Boat Crew for their assistance.
Beverley &
Simon Drayton
Humberside & North Yorkshire Area Co-ordinators
Seal
Rescue Spurn point, Yorkshire
1st February
We received
a call from Sue at tea-time 1st Feb informing us of an injured seal
at the spurn point nature reserve. The call originated from the
reserve warden Andrew Gibson and, as he is an avid seal watcher
we knew it to be serious and not a resting seal. After a few phone
calls to local medics, we arranged for Katherine, a Hull medic,
to go and have a look for us whilst we got our gear together and
set off from Scarborough some 2.5hrs away. We also managed to contact
Sue Davis also from Hull, who also set off to assist Katherine should
she need it.
Katherine managed to locate
Andrew with the seal (no mean feat in the dark!). Katherine told
us it was a Common Seal, it was very lethargic and had small wounds
on its body that were bleeding.Two particular nasty wounds under
his front flippers at the point where they meet his body, were of
concern. As we were still en route, we decided it would be better
for the seal to be looked at by a vet and arranged to meet them
there.
On reaching the vets I
realized the wounds looked to be infected and as the seal was very
'flat', we took him into the vets where he was treated. Under advice
from our vet, arranged to transfer the seal ( a male, 'Boris' )
to East Winch RSPCA Seal hospital. Simon and I transported 'Boris'
to a rendezvous point at Caenby Corner, where we met Becky an RSPCA
ACO, and handed over. Becky then took Boris on to East Winch where
the vet advised her we were correct to bring him in.
On phoning this morning,
I was told 'Boris' was very poorly and on a drip.
I would like to add that
as 'Boris' was a healthy weight 20kilos, and although infected,
his wounds looked to be superficial. It would have been very easy
to assume that we would have been better to leave him be. Had this
seal not got the treatment he needed, there is no doubt he would
have suffered unnecessarily.
My sincere thanks go to
both Katherine and Sue (and their mums who accompanied them), the
hull vet, and Becky rspca Aco for another sucessful rescue.
Beverley Drayton
- BDMLR
Seal pup escapes
attack by dogs - Scotland
1st February
Whilst out doing a beach clean today at 10.00hrs,
a group of common seals were observed early morning within the Montrose
groups
patrol area with a small fully weaned Grey pup hauled out some distance
away from them. There was no immediate concern for the pup as it
was bright active and alert and although on a notorious footpath
for dog walkers, the area was clear of people and canines. It was
decided to commence with the beach clean and if the pup was still
there when we had finished then we would investigate further. At
14.00hrs our pup "Mistletoe" was still hauled out in the
same spot but being continually harassed by 2 dogs - a Labrador
and a Doberman.
Medics Willie, Peter Jacque and Andy made there
way to the location whilst Elaine continued with observations through
her binoculars at the same time trying to draw the dog owners attention
to the fact that that the dogs were engaged in repeated attempted
attacks on the pup .SEPA arrived on scene as they were taking routine
water samples from the area and offered to transport Elaine to the
pup in their RIB which happened to be at hand. The offer was declined
although much appreciated as it was made just as the Medics had
arrived at the pup. The pup had not suffered any injuries from its
attack by the dogs and after being checked over by the Medics on
scene it happily made its way into the water on the flow tide.
Many thanks to Medics Jacque, Andy, Willie, Peter,
Elaine and to the guys from SEPA Based at inverkeithing.
Elaine Roft
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Montrose Area Co-ordinator (Inverbervie-Easthaven)
