A YOUNG harbour porpoise that was stranded on the coast outside of Carnforth was rescued after a successful operation.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue was called in time to assess the porpoise and found that she was in good body condition with no visible injuries.
The porpoise became stuck on the evening of Sunday 23 April.
Sarah Neill, from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: "It looks like she just got caught out on the tide. We managed to transport her out to sea on a hovercraft where we restored her equilibrium in the water and she swam off strongly which was amazing to see."
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The agencies involved in the rescue other than the marine life rescue were Morecambe RNLI and Arnisde Coastguard and Bay Search and Rescue.
According to the Mammal Society, porpoises make their habitats in subtropical, temperate and subarctic waters. They are from the cetacean family, which also includes whales and dolphins.
As their name suggests, they are commonly found in coastal bays, estuaries and around headlands and in tidal channels.
They can be found in most parts of north-west Europe, and they tend to stay within 10 km of the coast.
They are usually between 145-160cm in length, with female porpoises being larger than male. They have a typical life span of 12 years but can live up to 24.
Sadly, harbour porpoises often die when they are stranded on the shoreline.
According to a study done by Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2020, more than 16,000 dead harbour porpoises have been found on coastlines around the North Sea between 1990 and 2018.
About 2,600 of these porpoises were on UK beaches.
Mariel ten Doeschate from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, which contributed to the study, said: "Harbour porpoises are one of the smaller and more elusive species of cetacean.
“Animals most commonly live alone or in small groups and spend very little time at the surface.
“This means that they are a particularly difficult species to monitor and gathering information on even the most basic population metrics is very challenging.”
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