A DEAD whale has washed up on a beach in Fife despite efforts to rescue the mammal further down the coast. 

Fife Council are advising people to stay away from the beach in Dalgety Bay and Lumsdaine Drive where there are restrictions as they try to remove the Sei whale. 

British Divers Marine Life Rescue received a callout to a stranding of a whale in North Queensferry on Wednesday and were successful in refloating it.

It appeared the animal was stuck in chest-deep water and was unable to free itself.

Measuring 12.8 metres in length, the whale appeared to be in a moderate condition and was moving excessively in an attempt to free itself from the sand.

Dunfermline Press:

Just as medics were exiting the water to make rescue plans, the whale made a big effort to swim out to sea.

It was last seen headed east and swimming strongly.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: "Unfortunately the survival rate of large whales who have already stranded is quite low as there is usually a reason for why they have beached themselves.

"Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) will be attending to perform a necropsy on the animal and they will share their results with us to see if there was any underlying cause.

"A sad ending to what was a hopeful rescue."

 

Authorities are removing the whale to prevent it becoming a hazard. 

Councillor David Barratt said: "We seem to be seeing an increase in whales visiting the Forth in recent years. 

"I'm told an autopsy will be undertaken and that discussions are underway with the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine as the University of Glasgow.

"It will be interesting to see if the death was due to human impact or natural causes. 

"It's very sad."