The body of a female sperm whale washes up on the UK coast

Posted by Jordyn Johnson on 10 May 2023

The body of a young adult female sperm whale washed up on a north Wales, UK beach on Monday morning, 8 May.

Photograph: Getty Images

The Abersoch Coastguard Rescue Team reported the sighting after spotting it on Porth Neigwl beach, according to Sky News. The British Divers Marine Life Rescue arrived but needed to wait for the tide to go out before confirming the whale was dead.

A British Divers Marine Life Rescue spokesperson told the BBC that ‘as the tide retreated, it became clear the whale had passed away’.

Wales co-ordinator of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme Mat Westfield said the 10m long, 10-tonne mammal ‘was very poorly when it washed up. The first reports were that it was still alive at that point, but it quickly died.’

He also said the whale appeared to have not eaten for some time before washing up on shore, as it was very underweight.

The Investigation Programme is working with the coastguard and Gwynedd Council to remove the whale carcass. In the meantime, the coastguard has asked the public not to approach the whale. A post-mortem examination will be carried out on Wednesday, 10 May, and ‘any contact will impair the valuable results to be gained from a full autopsy.’

This event follows a dead minke whale that was found on North Berwick beach in East Lothian, Scotland on Sunday, 7 May, and a dead humpback whale that washed up on a sandbank in the Scottish Highlands on Friday, 5 May.

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