Experts warn British public to stay away from ‘unpredictable’ whale

A sperm whale swimming in Oban Bay, Scotland Marine experts have warned members of the public to stay away from a whale that swam into Oban Bay in Scotland.The young sperm whale was first spotted in the water off the popular tourist location on Friday and some boat-owners have been circling the mammal to get a closer look.However, animal rescuers have cautioned the public to stay away from the whale for fear of causing it distress, adding that the creature is large enough to overturn small boats.
Stephen Marsh, operations manager for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, told STV News: “Most of the wildlife operations on the scene in the bay are staying away from the whale. We have put out requests to ask that people don’t go out in boats to approach it. If it comes distressed, it might move out to an area where it can get stranded or even hit by a boat.
“The whale is very close to the shore, so much so that you can actually stand on the shore and get close-up pictures of it, so there’s no need to go out there.
“If we get into a situation where we need to move the whale, we have a licence to do that. These people don’t have a licence to do it.”
Mr Marsh added that those non-professionals venturing into the bay were putting their safety and wellbeing in jeopardy.
He said: “Remember, this is a big animal and, if stressed, it could become unpredictable. Its size is such that it could overturn any of the boats sailing around it. It really is very dangerous.”
The whale is not thought to be stranded but it is feared that its health is weakening.
A spokeswoman for the Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust said: “Our education officer has just left the bay. She said the whale is looking quite thin now and its blow is not as prominent. It appears to be weakening.
“You wouldn’t expect such a deep-diving species to come into shore and it doesn’t appear to be making any efforts to go back out to sea.
“The water in the bay is also much shallower, so it’s probably become dehydrated.”
The spokeswoman echoed warnings to the public to avoid distressing the creature.
She continued: “It’s not good to get close to it because this is a big animal and it could be dangerous, quite apart from the disturbance and distress that could be caused to the whale.”