A large pod of pilot whales visited the harbor in the small fishing village Rif on Snæfellsnes peninsula. A local ICE-SAR unit shepherded the whales out of the harbor, back to safety.
Last week an even larger pod was rescued from beaching itself in a fjord further east on the peninsula. Some 100-200 whales were herded out of the fjord out into the open waters of Breiðafjörður bay. Locals feared the whales would beach themselves in the fjord.
Read more: Beautiful aerial video of whale herding in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord
On Saturday noon locals noted a pod of pilot whales at the harbor opening in Rif. The whales swam into the harbor, and seemed unable or unwilling to swim back out to sea. The local ICE-SAR unit was called out at three in the afternoon, after it had become clear the whales would not leave on their own.
The harbor warden, and a member of ICE-SAR, Hafrún Ævarsdóttir, told the National Broadcasting Service RÚV that pilot whales are regular guests in the harbor. Two pods had to be herded out of the harbor in 2017. In one of those cases they swam right onto the shallows, and had to be pushed out by hand. This time the whales remained safely from the shore, but just refused to leave.
Frequent whale rescue operations
It seems that there is an unusually high number of stories about beached whales and whale rescue this summer. Last week a bottlenose whale was rescued off the shore of Engey island, in Reykjavík, after it had beached itself.
Read more: Slideshow of the day: Rescue of stranded bottlenose whale outside Reykjavík Old Harbor
Read more: Video: Local kayaker rescues a stranded pilot whale in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord
A large pod of pilot whales visited the harbor in the small fishing village Rif on Snæfellsnes peninsula. A local ICE-SAR unit shepherded the whales out of the harbor, back to safety.
Last week an even larger pod was rescued from beaching itself in a fjord further east on the peninsula. Some 100-200 whales were herded out of the fjord out into the open waters of Breiðafjörður bay. Locals feared the whales would beach themselves in the fjord.
Read more: Beautiful aerial video of whale herding in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord
On Saturday noon locals noted a pod of pilot whales at the harbor opening in Rif. The whales swam into the harbor, and seemed unable or unwilling to swim back out to sea. The local ICE-SAR unit was called out at three in the afternoon, after it had become clear the whales would not leave on their own.
The harbor warden, and a member of ICE-SAR, Hafrún Ævarsdóttir, told the National Broadcasting Service RÚV that pilot whales are regular guests in the harbor. Two pods had to be herded out of the harbor in 2017. In one of those cases they swam right onto the shallows, and had to be pushed out by hand. This time the whales remained safely from the shore, but just refused to leave.
Frequent whale rescue operations
It seems that there is an unusually high number of stories about beached whales and whale rescue this summer. Last week a bottlenose whale was rescued off the shore of Engey island, in Reykjavík, after it had beached itself.
Read more: Slideshow of the day: Rescue of stranded bottlenose whale outside Reykjavík Old Harbor
Read more: Video: Local kayaker rescues a stranded pilot whale in Kolgrafarfjörður fjord
