Just before 11 a.m. on Thursday, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) responded to reports of a large number of whales stranded at Tresness beach on the Isle of Sanday.
They discovered 77 whales, including calves and youngsters, and several males reaching lengths of up to 22 feet (7 meters).
It is thought to be the biggest mass stranding in Scotland since 1975, with only 12 people surviving.
The remaining whales, according to an update released by the BDMLR on Friday, were put to death.
The release read: “Sadly the remaining 12 pilot whales have been euthanised due to their condition deteriorating from the many hours they have spent stranded on the beach.”
According to the BDMLR, whales who are forced to carry their own weight while out of the water run the risk of suffering catastrophic crushing injuries.
Water from the approaching tide can also be inhaled by them.
They were sadly unable to refloat themselves because the extremely soft substrate they were on caused them to sink even farther into the sand when the tide rushed over them, the statement continued.
Although the reason the whales became stranded is unknown, scientists believe it is possible that one of them got into trouble and the others followed.
