Sadly its unlikely to survive, as is all too often the case.

A male sperm whale, the world's largest predator, has beached itself on the Cunnigar Strand in Dungarvan.

The incident follows numerous sightings of the cetacean off the south-east coast over the past 24 hours.

Andrew Malcolm of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) said this afternoon that the whale, around 10m in length, was "still very much alive".

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/sperm-whale-beaches-itself-in-dungarvan-517187.html#ixzz1VZAgI3zyli

 

UPDATE: Sadly this animal didn't make it, and unfortunately it looks we may never know why it stranded in the first place - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0822/1224302806444.html

Sadly I have to report that 'Mama' the gray whale in California has passed away. I know a lot of people would have worked very hard to get the best possible result, and that the animal was much loved by the locals so it's all the more heartbreaking.

I believe she was originally in the water with a calf, who did go back to sea, so hopefully its the start of a long, happy but no doubt adventurous life for him/her.

Had a couple of animals coming in over the weekend at this stage they are all believed to be harbour porpoises, although I'm waiting on photos to confirm this.

1 came in on Berwick beach in Northumberland, thanks to the local council for all their help with this animal.

1 at Thurlstone beach in the Wirral, thanks to Gemma for reporting it and for still managing to find time to chat to me this morning dispite dogs and kids all wanting her attention!

Finally thanks to HM Coastguards at Happisburgh for reporting their porpoise that stranded at Cart Gap in Norfolk.

I made a post a few days ago about the amazing rescue of a baby humpback on the Gold Coast in Australia. Sadly I have to follow this happy story up with the sad news the the 1 week old didn't find its mum and restranded 2 days later, and had to be put down. It must be so heart breaking for all those involved, that would have worked so hard to keep this little guy alive.

"It's been a very sad morning for everyone involved in this operation who helped to give the young calf the best chance of survival by getting him into the ocean so he could have the best possible chance of being reunited with his mother," said Trevor Long, who led the rescue.

 

Long, from the SeaWorld marine park, said the whale would not have been able to survive long without receiving nourishment and protection from its mother.

New sorce: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/10011584/baby-whale-to-be-put-down-after-second-beaching/

Hate this, I really wish it had a happy ending.

If you missed it, you can catch up with Inside Natures Giants on 4oD, it shows a post mortem of a sperm whale, so probably not best for lunch time viewing!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/inside-natures-giants/4od#3219787

All the guys in red with ZSL on their arms are our gang from Cetacean Strandings Investigation Program, I'm like a proud mum!

The sonar vs. strandings debate has always been a very contentious one, and one I'm not going to comment on. However it is fantastic to see the US Navy taking the problem seriously and conducting some research.

That’s why a team of marine mammal specialists, engineers, acousticians, and biologists were placing suction cup tags on whales and dolphins from the Santa Monica Bay to the Orange County Coast these past few days.

 

The tags gather a plethora of information including how deep the whales dive, their exact route and location and their response to loud underwater noises.

 

This is the second year of this Navy funded study called SOCAL-11 and it seeks to determine how different species in different scenarios react to sonar.

 

Of course the overall goal is help the Navy become environmentally compliant.

 

“The Navy has been wonderful as they really want to discover where and when they should not be using sonar,” said senior scientist Brandon Southall from SEA and the University of California at Santa Cruz.

 

Source: http://lagunaniguel.patch.com/articles/united-states-navy-seeks-to-understand-possible-reasons-for-whale-strandings