IF WE cast our minds back to October, there was mass distress at Stevenston beach when a dead whale washed up on the North Ayrshire coast.

Much was reported on the whale, and its clearance from the beach.

READ MORE: Stevenston beach: Dead whale found on shore

However little was said, at the time, as to how this large cetacean ended up there in the first place.

Now, the British Diver Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) have looked to provide clarity on this - as well as the increased sightings of such sea life in the area.

The BDMLR are a voluntary rescue organisation - who can be called out 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, for the rescue of stranded mammals like the aforementioned whale, as well as other sea life which has been sighted such as seals, porpoise, dolphins, basking sharks or even leatherback turtles.

They say the whale at Stevenston washed up due to an entaglement on its tail and had washed up deceased - while the number of people coming to the beach to visit its carcass, getting particularly close, also concerned them

David Devoy, BDMLR coordinator for Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway explained all.

He said: "Strandings are becoming more common on our local shores. This is happening for various reasons including navigational error by the cetacean or seal itself, by catch and entanglement vessels, plastics and chemical pollution such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (CHCs).

"Another cause is that they may have become sick due to old age.

"Human disturbance is also a major factor and significant threat, especially in the seal pupping season where pups are born on easily accessible beaches or otherwise turn up in public accessible areas during post-weaning season.

"They are sometimes approached by members of the public mistaking them for sick or injured seals, or attacked by family pets.

"In most cases this means mother will leave her pup due to human scent, or injury leaving the pup to starve, especially where the pup is unweaned.

"In the case of large cetaceans, unwanted noise and boat activity can stress the mammal causing it to move to shallow waters and strand on a beach."

Though equally important in cases of strandings is how we respond to such situations.

David continued: "If we can't get to these strandings as soon as possible, the chances of re-flotating, or in the case of seals getting them to rehab, can suffer and their numbers will eventually reduce, so education plays an important part.

"In the first instance, we recommend that you observe and try to get as much information as possible that will help our response.

"Please do not try to put the mammal back into the water yourself, this could either cause further injury to it or more importantly, to yourself.

"For instance, if the tail of a whale were to strike you it could cause catastrophic injury. Seals in particular can look tame but they do give an extremely nasty bite if provoked.

"Also try to keep your pets away from them to avoid any nasty infections to both your pet and yourself.

"Returning them back to the waters delays examination and can result in them stranding again within hours."

Most important of all for the BDMLR is to contact their rescue line on 01825 765546 using option one for emergency response. Provide as much detail as possible, and bare in mind they work alongside blue light services.