Sperm whale entangled in rope off coast of Skye

A sperm whale got into difficulty after becoming entangled in rope off the east coast of Skye.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said it was alerted to the incident at 13:00 on Thursday and mobilised its large whale disentanglement team.

The adult whale was spotted by a local drone operator who shared their video footage with the specialist team.

The BDMLR attempted to take a closer look at the whale, however the wind and sea conditions made it impossible to approach safely.

The team will make a second attempt to assess the animal with “extreme caution” later.

A bull sperm whale can grow to 20m (67ft) long and is the largest living toothed animal.

They are named after the waxy oil in their heads, called spermaceti, which was previously used in oil lamps and candles.

They are a deep-diving species so it is unusual to see them in the relatively shallow waters surrounding Skye.

The endangered whales are known to be very unpredictable, especially in situations where they are entangled.

This is the fourth incident of this type that BDMLR has responded to in the last three months.

In February, two fisherman saved a humpback whale which got entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Skye.

A calf sperm whale washed up on Skye in October 2023, but marine experts said it was not a “viable case for rescuing”.

Medics monitored the calf until it passed away. The BDMLR said there was no humane way to euthanise an animal of that size.

In 2019, a sperm whale died after it became stranded on the Isle of Harris.

It was later revealed it had a 100kg “litter ball” in its stomach, with fishing nets, rope, packing straps, bags and plastic cups among the items discovered in a compacted mass.