Fin Whale Washed Up on Cornwall Beach
On Wednesday, a fin whale washed up on Cornwall beach. The large 16-meter female whale was discovered by surfers at Newquay’s Fistral Beach at dawn. Rob Barber, director of the Newquay Activity Centre Was first at the scene. He first thought the large object was a rock but as it got brighter, he realized it was a whale. Barber said, “It’s super sad obviously but it’s also phenomenally interesting.”
A resident, Kathryn Fuller, said that seeing the dead whale on the beach was heartbreaking. “It’s deeply saddening, especially as it’s suspected to be a young whale too.” She states that as a community they “strive to protect our waters, wildlife and sea life.” What’s even more sad to her is that the whale was a juvenile female fin whale.
A 20-meter cordon was placed around the whale to protect it and the people. The young whale that washed up on Cornwall beach appeared sick and malnourished. According to Mr Barber, the whale was seen swimming on Tuesday around the area in an odd manner. This confirms that the whale was sick before it washed up on shore.
Anthea Hawtrey-Collier, a marine standings data officer from Cornwall Wildlife Trust also stated that the animal was sick. “It’s quite a skinny animal and there have been parasites seen on it… which usually indicate poor health.” Another member of the trust, Abby Crosby, said, “What’s really important now is finding out more about the whale and why it died so we can try and learn from it.”
A post-mortem was performed on the whale to help release the gasses and try to find the cause of death. A volunteer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust stated that whales can blow up from all the internal gasses. The post-mortem help alleviate those gases and prevent a messy explosion.
Fin Whales in Cornwall
Fin Whales are the second largest whales after the blue whale. They can grow to be over 80 ft long and weigh over 100,00 pounds. Their life expectancy is around 80-90 years.
This is the second fin whale found dead on Cornwall beach. The first one was found in January and appeared to be 12-15 meters long. Sadly, it washed away in the sea before a post-mortem could be performed.
