A young whale has tragically died on a Fife beach after becoming separated from mother.
Rescuers rushed to Pettycur Bay on Sunday morning to save the female minke whale after it washed up at at high tide.
Coastguard officers and a team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue launched a bid to save the whale and refloat it in the water.
Medics from the rescue group tended to the animal but with high tide still seven hours away, they announced shortly after noon that the mammal had to be euthanised, reports the Daily Record.
Colin Mcfadyen, BDMLR north-east Scotland regional co-ordinator, said the 12ft whale, reckoned to be less than a year old, was reported by a member of the public at around 7.30am.
Mr Mcfadyen said: “It was a very young minke. She was in very good condition but what was concerning was the size. If they are too young they are unable to fend for themselves.
“If you put them back in the water then you get a starving animal stranding again in a few days.”
The carcase will be analysed by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) to determine the reason for the stranding.
