Probe launched after 22 whales found dead in Fife

A woman walking past dead pilot whales after they beached near Pittenweem off the coast of Fife. Credit: PA

A report is being done on why a group of 22 whales died in a mass stranding on the Fife coast in Scotland. Twenty-two pilot whales died when they became beached between Pittenweem and Anstruther earlier this month.

A dead sea whale was also found on a beach at Eliot near Arbroath last week.

Scientists at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) have been looking at the carcasses to try to establish the cause of the mammals' deaths.

Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead has asked for a full report into the deaths, with the results to be made available "as soon as possible". He said:

There are a number reasons why whales come near the shore and strand, says SAC veterinary investigation officer Andrew Brownlow: