Sperm whale 'likely to die tonight' after washing up on Norfolk beach

Laura Proto4 February 2016

A sperm whale which washed up on a Norfolk beach is likely to die tonight, it has been confirmed.

The animal, which was still alive, became stranded at Hunstanton this morning but the British Drivers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) warned the whale was unlikely to survive.

BDMLR operations manager Stephen Marsh confirmed soon after 4pm the operation was "no longer a rescue attempt".

He said: "The tide will start dropping and then we will reassess the situation.

"Sadly the whale is likely to die at some point tonight."

The latest whale to become stranded on a coastline is the 29th across Europe in just two weeks.

Mr Marsh said there was not much rescue workers could do to help the male whale due to its size and weight.

Stricken: Experts said the whale was unlikely to survive PA Wire
Ricky-Lee Tompkins/PA Wire

He said earlier: “The tide may well lift it but we don't think it would survive another stranding if it came back in.

"There's nothing we can do, it's likely to be between 25-30 tonnes. We can't lift it, we can't roll it, the vets can't put it out of its misery.

"The body will be breaking down and releasing toxins, causing organ failure. It's a very sad case but we will have to let nature take its course.”

The whale is said to be about 1.5 miles in land.

Mr Marsh said strandings can happen naturally and the recent increase might be due to a rise in whale population.

He added: “The females and calves stay in warmer waters and the males leave as they become sexually active and form bachelor pods. They will then go back to the warmer areas on an annual basis to mate.

"We don't know if they were trying to migrate down to the tropics but there's no sign yet of any manmade activity that would cause them to come in, but that is being investigated."

Eight whales, belived to be from the same pod, were found dead in Friedrichskoog, Germany, three days ago and another three dead whales washed up on the Lincolnshire coast last month.

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