Whale entangled in ropes strands on island shore

A sperm whale spotted entangled in ropes off Skye last week has become stranded on a shore off the nearby island of Raasay.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) managed to cut five ropes from the animal on Saturday, but some remained around its head.

The charity's attempts to get close to the adult whale over the weekend were affected by high winds and rough sea conditions.

BDMLR has sent a team to Raasay.

The stranding follows other recent incidents involving entangled whales.

In February, two fisherman rescued a humpback whale found entangled in creel fishing gear off the coast of Skye.

The creel fishermen had been fishing further south when they received a report of the entangled whale.

A single rope had become anchored around the tail of the humpback.

In January, BDMLR freed a humpback whale entangled in ropes at a Skye salmon farm.

The animal was spotted in difficulty at Organic Sea Harvest's Invertote site near Staffin in the north of the island.

BDMLR said the rope was wrapped around the whale's head and left fin.