Experts from across the UK are due to arrive in Orkney to begin examinations of the whale carcasses.
Cetacean experts from around the UK are due to arrive in Orkney to begin examinations and post-mortems on a stranded pod of 77 pilot whales.
Stranding expert Emma Neave-Webb said removing the animals was a "massive undertaking" with local farmers are on standby to help with the removal of the carcasses. "It’s very emotional when you first arrive. We knew some animals were still alive so they were priority but we had to go through every single animal there."The animals were very closely packed together with alive animals next to dead animals, they were moving around quite a bit, thrashing their tails occasionally so it was a really dangerous situation."
Rescuers attempted to keep the whales alive by pouring sea water over them, but the decision was later taken to euthanise them.Experts from SMASS and CSIP will measure each carcass and take samples of skin, blubber and muscle. The site of the stranding is hard to access and Ms Neave-Webb paid tribute to Sanday locals who have been transporting experts using four by four vehicles.
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