A rescue mission yesterday saw 10 Pilot whales refloated after becoming stranded on the Fife coast. Unfortunately one later died, but the rest of the group has been spotted in deeper water.
Coastguards had been called on Sunday morning after 26 whales were spotted on the beach between Anstruther and Pittenweem.
When the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) arrived, 13 had already died, and despite best efforts to keep the survivors alive, several more were lost.
But when the tide came in yesterday afternoon, rescuers managed to re-float 10 of the whales and by the evening the pod had managed to swim further out into open sea.
Unfortunately one of the rescued whales has since died, but the rest of the group has been spotted in deeper water.
Alistair Jack, from the BDMLR, said: "It's been a traumatic experience for them. I don't know if they grieve or not but they have lost a lot of their family. But fingers crossed that they will keep heading out to sea."
Tests are being done on samples taken from the dead whales to try and determine the cause of the stranding.
The carcasses will be winched up the cliff face into specially prepared skips before being disposed of by a specialist contractor.
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