The large pod of pilot whales who swam into Kolgrafarfjörður fjord over the weekend appears to have left the fjord. Locals had feared the whales might beach themselves in the fjord, as the narrow entrance to the fjord and the strong current in the fjord entrance has in the past caused schools of fish and whales to get stuck. As pods of pilot whales are known to beach themselves local ICE-SAR teams are regularly called out to assist whales who are swimming dangerously close to the shore and divert them back out to the ocean.
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that one of the pilot whales in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord swam into the shallows near the shore where he got stuck, but a local man on a kayak managed to get the animal free and escort him back to the sea.
Read more: Video: Heroic attempt to herd a large pod of pilot whales stuck in fjord in W. Iceland
The whales had been herded out of the fjord on Sunday, but the animals had returned back into the fjord by early Monday morning, to the delight of onlookers who enjoyed watching them play in the water close to shore. ICE-SAR made a second attempt to herd the whales out of the fjord yesterday evening. By ten the entire pod, which counted as many as two hundred individuals, had been shepherded out of the fjord. The local news site Vísir reports that by eleven the animals were swimming in Breiðafjörður bay, on their way to the northwest away from Kolgrafarfjörður fjord.
Einar Strand, the local commander of ICE-SAR who was in charge of the rescue operation, told Vísir that he hoped the whales were free from danger. They seem to be heading somewhere north-west, and we have stopped following them. We hope they are far enough from the shore to just continue on their way, rather than return. But we just have to wait and see.
Scientists do not know why pilot whales beach themselves.
The large pod of pilot whales who swam into Kolgrafarfjörður fjord over the weekend appears to have left the fjord. Locals had feared the whales might beach themselves in the fjord, as the narrow entrance to the fjord and the strong current in the fjord entrance has in the past caused schools of fish and whales to get stuck. As pods of pilot whales are known to beach themselves local ICE-SAR teams are regularly called out to assist whales who are swimming dangerously close to the shore and divert them back out to the ocean.
The local newspaper Fréttablaðið reports that one of the pilot whales in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord swam into the shallows near the shore where he got stuck, but a local man on a kayak managed to get the animal free and escort him back to the sea.
Read more: Video: Heroic attempt to herd a large pod of pilot whales stuck in fjord in W. Iceland
The whales had been herded out of the fjord on Sunday, but the animals had returned back into the fjord by early Monday morning, to the delight of onlookers who enjoyed watching them play in the water close to shore. ICE-SAR made a second attempt to herd the whales out of the fjord yesterday evening. By ten the entire pod, which counted as many as two hundred individuals, had been shepherded out of the fjord. The local news site Vísir reports that by eleven the animals were swimming in Breiðafjörður bay, on their way to the northwest away from Kolgrafarfjörður fjord.
Einar Strand, the local commander of ICE-SAR who was in charge of the rescue operation, told Vísir that he hoped the whales were free from danger. They seem to be heading somewhere north-west, and we have stopped following them. We hope they are far enough from the shore to just continue on their way, rather than return. But we just have to wait and see.
Scientists do not know why pilot whales beach themselves.
