Update: Female Orca Stranded in Scotland, June 2012

An update from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme about the adult female orca who stranded near Thurso in Scotland on 10th June 2012:
 
"On 10th June of this year, a killer whale (Orcinus orca, national reference number
SW2012/236) was found live stranded at Brimsness near Thurso in Scotland. A team
from the Scottish Strandings Scheme based at SRUC, Inverness (part of the CSIP
consortium, http://www.strandings.org/) attended on site and conducted a field necropsy after the whale died on the beach. The 4.90m adult female was judged to be in thin body condition and this loss of condition was thought to have played a factor in the live stranding of the animal. This case is still pending marine contaminant analysis, the results of which may alter the final cause of death given to the stranding. The CSIP has conducted extensive work on marine contaminants and their impact on cetaceans, more information on this research will be posted shortly. This is the sole stranding of a killer whale in the UK this year and only the 24th stranding of a killer whale in the
UK since the inception of the CSIP in 1990." - Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme: UK Strandings 

Image credit: British Divers Marine Life Rescue