The mammal, an eight-metre long adult female, was found dead on Saturday by staff of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) who then helped to tow it to shore to determine the cause of death.

When first sighted in the loch near Fort William several weeks ago, the whale had appeared healthy.

It was showing no obvious signs of distress but was being monitored by local representatives of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation and the local branch of the Scottish SPCA.

It is understood that the whale was last seen alive on Wednesday, October 15. But concerns heightened when the whale appeared unable to return to Loch Linnhe and open seas, possibly because of the relatively narrow entrance.

Northern bottlenose whales are more usually found in the very deep waters off the north and west coasts of Scotland.

It was a northern bottlenose whale which famously swam up the River Thames a few years ago. Another one was stranded on the south coast of England earlier this year.

WDCS's Sarah Dolman and Nicola Hodgins went to the area on Saturday hoping to find the whale and to help monitor its condition.

Earlier attempts to get near to the whale to examine it had failed as it had swum strongly away from boats.

The WDCS team used a powerful "big eye" telescope from the shore to scan the water hoping to observe the whale.

The team eventually spotted the animal floating vertically, beak-up and motionless in the water.

With an Scottish SPCA officer and Coastguard personnel on board, the WDCS team travelled out to the whale, confirmed that it was dead and then towed it to shore.

Volunteers from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society tow the unfortunate whale to the shore.

A post-mortem examination was conducted on Monday and Tuesday by experts from the Scottish Agricultural College in Inverness at the local authority landfill site at Duisky, on the shores of Loch Eil.

A WDCS spokeswoman said the test had proved "inconclusive".

"Sadly, the condition of the animal meant the pathologist was unable to determine the cause of death," she said. "However, the data will be maintained by the Scottish Agricultural College and can be used in future reports. Hopefully we can learn more about these animals."

Ms Dolman said: "This unfortunate end may not be surprising given the usual oceanic habitat of this species and the weeks that she spent in the loch, but only a timely and detailed post-mortem investigation will determine her cause of death.

"There have been a higher than usual number of northern bottlenose whale strandings and shallow water incidents in Iceland in recent months, which raises general questions about the health and possible human impacts on this species in Atlantic waters.

"Very little is known about this species."

The carcase, estimated to weigh between three and five tonnes, has now been disposed of by Highland Council's waste management service.

s.taylor@lochaber-news.co.uk

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