A gigantic, 30-tonne, whale has died after washing up on a popular tourist beach in the UK with the local council struggling to devise a plan to remove the remains. The mammal was spotted by British Divers Marine Life Rescue struggling in the sea off the East Yorkshire coast, earlier this week. Despite best efforts by experts to keep it alive, the whale sadly died on May 2 at 6pm. Now, the whale still lies on the popular tourist spot of Bridlington beach and contractors are hoping they can remove the gigantic fin whale without having to cut it up into smaller pieces.
Although the 55ft whale would possibly have to be dissected to remove it from the beach, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has said it is hoping to move it in its entirety.
A council spokesperson said: “Over the next couple of days we will be working with our contractors in an attempt to move the whale away from the beach whole, and we are liaising with zoological experts over the cause of this sad incident.”
They added: “This is a very challenging operation and the largest of the kind we have dealt with.”
Because of the tide, the body of the whale has “moved slightly down the beach” overnight.
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Roads and slipways in East Yorkshire will be closed as the whale is removed, but this hasn’t stopped curious onlookers, local residents, and tourists coming to look at the unusual sighting and take pictures and selfies with the massive whale.
Images on social media have seen families walking dogs along the beach and stopping to look at the stranded mammal.
The local council has now put a cordon in place to prevent people from getting too close. It said: “We are urging people to please stay away from the whale for health reasons, to help us deal with the situation, and also out of respect.”
It is currently not known what the animal’s cause of death was, but zoological experts will carry out an autopsy on the whale to establish further findings.
Fin whales are listed as endangered and commercial whaling still remains a threat, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They are not commonly found in the North Sea, but found throughout the world’s oceans. There are around 100,000 fin whales left in the wild and they can way up to 80 tonnes and reach around 80ft in length.
