{"id":504881,"date":"2025-10-16T19:11:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/504881\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:11:15","slug":"tragedy-as-critically-endangered-sea-creature-washes-up-again-dead-after-scots-beach-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/504881\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragedy as critically endangered sea creature washes up again dead after Scots beach rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The native Scottish fish, which resembles a stingray, can grow up to 2.8m long and they usually stay at around 100m deep in the ocean.<\/p>\n

A critically endangered sea<\/a> creature that was saved by local heroes has tragically died after it washed up again on a beach in Angus.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week we told how<\/a> dog walker Vicky Whitecross was on Montrose<\/a> Beach when she spotted a Flapper Skate marooned on the shore. The native Scottish fish, which resembles a stingray, can grow up to 2.8m long and they usually stay at around 100m deep in the ocean.<\/p>\n

Flapper skates are given policy protection under the National Marine Plan due to being an endangered species.<\/a> Following the discovery on Monday, Vicky alerted the British Diving and Marine Life Rescue after the fish appeared to be deceased.<\/p>\n

A marine rescue team dragged the animal back to the sea but it was pronounced dead and hauled ashore for an autopsy. As they began to inspect the sex of the creature they realised it was still alive.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe huge beast measured 2.1m long<\/p>\n

The fish<\/a> was successfully released into the sea thanks to the efforts of the marine team and locals. Sadly, though, in a cruel twist of fate, the rescue team have now revealed that the same fish reappeared the following day after it had re-stranded deceased.<\/p>\n

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue team said: “On Monday, BDMLR Marine Mammal Medics responded to a highly unusual stranding report in Angus, Scotland, involving a live-stranded Flapper Skate.<\/p>\n

“The large female, measuring 2.1m long, was located on the shoreline and assessed on scene with expert guidance from species specialists. BDMLR Medics provided welfare support keeping the gills and body hydrated, helping to continue the skate\u2019s oxygen exchange, while the team quickly organised a re-float attempt. The skate was carefully re-floated into the sea, last observed swimming strongly away.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of those involved, the same individual reappeared the following day and had re-stranded deceased. BDMLR Medics were again able to attend promptly to recover the animal, and a necropsy was undertaken by Shark and Skate Scotland to gather vital data.”<\/p>\n

\"TheThe fish sadly re-stranded deceased<\/p>\n

The rescue team said that – although the outcome was saddening – this rare event<\/a> provided them with an important opportunity to collect fresh biological and genetic samples, contributing to ongoing research into this critically endangered and seldom-seen species.<\/p>\n

They added: “Flapper Skates are one of the largest skate species in the world and data from such incidents help improve understanding of their biology, health, and the potential causes of stranding or mortality.<\/p>\n

“BDMLR would like to extend sincere thanks to the members of the public who reported this incident, and to our volunteer Medics for their professionalism and swift response across both days. Each of these collaborative efforts helps strengthen knowledge and awareness of the UK\u2019s extraordinary marine biodiversity and the challenges faced by its most vulnerable species.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The native Scottish fish, which resembles a stingray, can grow up to 2.8m long and they usually stay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[933,728,113312,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-504881","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-environment","10":"tag-montrose","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115385434264121594","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}