Sævar-Strand

Sævar-Strand (*pronounced SAI-vaah'r STRAHND*) was a female killer whale that live-stranded in Gilsfjörður, west Iceland, on September 23rd, 2023. She was euthanized five days later after rescue attempts proved unsuccessful.

## Stranding

Following the successful rescue of a live-stranded killer whale in Gilsfjörður, west Iceland, on September 23rd in 2023, local volunteers spotted a second killer whale stranded further inside the fjord. They alerted authorities but, due to unfavorable weather conditions, did not attempt a rescue that day. The whale was fortunately situated in water high enough to support her own weight. Due to the location of the whale, rescue attempts would be much more challenging than they had been with the previous killer whale. This female whale had swam under a small bridge sectioning off the fjord, and couldn't get out by herself.

For the next four days, locals monitored the whale while a rescue operation was constructed. At one point during the operation, she tilted over on her side so that her blowhole became submerged. Locals immediately jumped into action and rolled her back over. In the process, they installed wooden supports around the whale to keep her upright and her blowhole out of the water.

A pod of seven killer whales had been sighted in the area a week prior, which was likely thought to be the pod of the stranded whale. No other pods were sighted in the area.

## Rescue

On September 28th, five days after she was initially discovered, rescue operations finally commenced. Volunteers with the Icelandic coast guard and the national search and rescue team, as well as various independent veterinarians, cetologists, and cetacean behaviorists arrived on scene to partake in the rescue operations. A health assessment conducted by a veterinarian showed that the whale was healthy and had no obvious injuries. The whale, thought to be a male at the time, was given the nickname Sævar-Strand, meaning "stranded Sævar."

Due to the whales location, the rescue team quickly discovered that they would have to manually maneuver her through the small gap under the bridge which could only be done during a very short window during high-tide, which happened to be at 7PM that evening. Rescuers began preparing the killer whale for rescue that afternoon with a makeshift sling and buoys. The sling was carefully slipped underneath her, and the buoys later attached and inflated. This makeshift inflatable would allow the rescue team to carefully tow the whale through the gap and out of the fjord via boat.

The window of opportunity arrived at 7PM, and the rescue team began towing the killer whale out. The operation had been going as planned until one of the buoys on the sling holding the whale deflated. Shortly after, the engine of the boat towing the whale malfunctioned, leaving the rescuers, and the whale, stranded once again. The already short window at high-tide had passed, and the rescuers were forced to re-assess the situation at hand. They would either have to wait until the next favorable tide and weather window arrived and a replacement boat was found or, keeping the welfare and health of the whale in mind, choose euthanasia. The former would have likely taken days, so unfortunately, the latter was chosen.

## Death

When it became apparent that the whale could not be rescued that evening, and second attempts at rescue could likely not commence for days or weeks, veterinarians on scene made the difficult decision to euthanize the female killer whale to prevent any further suffering it might have had to endure if left stranded for longer.

Researchers from the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Orca Project arrived the next day to conduct a post-mortem examination and retrieve samples. During the examination, the whale was discovered to be a female, and pregnant.

## References

1. ↑ Stefna á að hjálpa öðrum há­hyrningi úr Gils­firði á morgun.
2. ↑ Vonast til þess að fleyta háhyrningnum í kvöld
3. ↑ Undir­búningur fyrir björgun há­hyrningsins á loka­metrunum
4. ↑ Enn situr háhyrningurinn fastur
5. ↑ Gátu ekki hjálpað há­hyrningnum í kvöld
6. ↑ Ákveðið að aflífa háhyrninginn
7. ↑ Allt stefndi í björgun en eftir bátsbilun var há­hyrningurinn af­lífaður
8. ↑ A second whale live stranded last weekend, shortly after the first one was refloated..