Cornish locals told to stay away from dead 54ft whale that mysteriously washed up on shore amid fears mammal’s blood could be TOXIC – as experts begin post-mortem

• WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
• The rare fin whale washed up on Newquay’s Finstral Beach yesterday morning 
• Pathologists performed the post-mortem amid fears the whale could explode

Cornish locals have been told to stay away from a dead 54ft whale that mysteriously washed up on shore amid fears the mammal’s blood could be toxic.

The water-bound mammal was found dead on Newquay’s Fistral beach by a surfer on Wednesday and was identified as a rare fin whale – the second largest species in the world.

The giant creature was found stretched out across the sand, with blood around its mouth, stomach, and fin. It is not clear what caused its death or the bleeding, although what appeared to be several scratch marks were seen around its face. 

It comes as experts carry out a post-mortem of the carcass, with wildlife agencies deciding whether to allow the whale to naturally return to the ocean or if it needs to be removed.

Locals have been warned to stay away as the animal’s blood could be toxic and there had been fears before the post-mortem that the animal could explode.

A pathologist looks into the dissected carcass of a fin whale which washed up dead on a Cornish beach on Wednesday

An aerial drone view of the 54ft whale as pathologists attempt to determine its cause of death

Officials and scientists gather around the giant water-bound mammal after it washed up on Newquay’s Fistral Beach

A cordon has been set up preventing members of the public from getting close to the animal

Anthea Hawtrey-Collier, of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, warned that while fin whale strandings are rare, the huge mammal is being seen more and more in British waters. 

What are fin whales? 

The fin whale is the second-largest whale species on earth, second only to the blue whale. 

It is found throughout the world’s oceans, typically in deep, offshore waters. Most migrate to the Arctic and Antarctic in summer and warmer breeding areas in the winter.

It gets its name from an easy-to-spot fin on its back, near its tail.

During the summer, fin whales feed on krill, small schooling fish (including herring, capelin, and sand lance), and squid by lunging into schools of prey with their mouths open

Fin whales have long lives—they reach physical maturity at about 25 years, and their maximum lifespan is about 90 years. 

Males become sexually mature at 6 to 10 years of age and females at 7 to 12 years of age. After 11 to 12 months of gestation, a pregnant female gives birth to a single calf in tropical and subtropical areas during midwinter. 

Newborn calves are about 18 feet long, and weigh 4,000 to 6,000 pounds.

Fin whales sometimes mate with blue whales and hybrids have been documented.

Source: NOAA Fisheries 

‘The Cornwall marine pathology team has been given permission to perform a post mortem in situ,’ she told the Telegraph. 

‘The findings should help us understand why this animal died and what the health of our seas are. And how these animals are faring in our waters.’

Yesterday, a volunteer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust said that the mammal had a ‘high risk of blowing up’ and that it would be ‘very gassy and messy’.

Dead whales often explode when gases accumulate within their large carcasses, and a post-mortem will not only help identify the cause of death but also likely let out any gas to prevent an explosion.

Walkers were ordered to stay away from the carcass, and the area was cordoned off by officials. 

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust said it had been alerted to the dead whale at 7.10am this morning and dispatched its marine stranding team of volunteers to the famous surfing beach.

A spokesman said: ‘We don’t know if it is a biohazard or not. But to be sure we don’t want people touching it. Our remit will be to measure the animal and record the stranding. We did call in Devon and Cornwall Police as there were a few people on the beach and they cordoned the area off.

‘We also alerted Cornwall Council who is the landowner.’

Devon and Cornwall Police said a multiple-agency presence is on the beach now. A spokesman for the force said members of the public are being asked to avoid the area at present.

They said: ‘A number of emergency services and partner agencies are currently on Fistral Beach following a report of a dead whale having been located. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area at this time.’

Fin whales, also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring or razorback whale, are a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales.

The fin whale, believed to be around 16 metres long, was found on Fistral Beach by watersports teacher Rob Barber

Earlier today, a volunteer at the trust said that the mammal had a ‘high risk of blowing up’ and that it would be ‘very gassy and messy’

Experts hope to be able to determine the cause of death of the mammal to better understand ‘how these animals are faring in our waters’

It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the blue whale

Pictures taken on Wednesday show the whale stretched out across the sand, with what appears to be blood around its mouth, stomach, and fin

It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the blue whale.

They can measure up to 20m (60ft) in length and weigh up to 48 tons.

Rachel Atkins, who tooks some pictures of the mammal, said she woke up at 6.30am on Wednesday and saw people in high-vis jackets milling about on the beach.

Why do dead animals explode? 

When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produce methane as part of the decomposition process. 

If this is not let out of the body gradually it builds up, exploding at the first opportunity. 

Whales are the most extreme because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater. 

Living toads in Hamburg, Germany, started spontaneously combusting in 2005. It was thought that crows were picking out their livers, leaving a hole, so when the toads puffed themselves as a defence mechanism, their whole bodies burst. 

And Royal funeral attendants hurriedly drilled a hole in the coffin of overweight English King George IV to let out gases – after an apparent botched embalming job.  

She said: ‘I saw a police car and van there. When we walked down to the beach we realised it was a dead whale washed up. There were a lot of people crowding around and a cordon was in place so people wouldn’t get too close.

‘The police extended the cordon so we walked up to the path above the dunes.. It was still really busy. One lady said to me it’s the busiest she’d ever seen the footpath at that time in the morning.’

Ms Atkins added: ‘It’s a massive animal. It’s really imposing to see. It reminds you of the vastness of the ocean. It’s really sad to see.’

Ms Atkins said that the whale is bloodied and wondered if predators in the sea had a go at it before it was washed up on Fistral beach during a rough weather night.

She added: ‘There were people with all their kits taking samples from the whale.’

In January, the remains of a fin whale were found on Perranuthnoe beach on Cornwall’s south coast.

And in June 2022, a ‘baby’ whale was discovered on Millendreath beach near Looe in Cornwall.

In June 2021, a 40ft minke whale carcass was spotted by a walker on the shore near a windfarm in Redcar, Teesside.

When any whale washes up on a beach, it is only a matter of time before they explode, sending their guts flying across the shoreline. 

When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produces methane as part of the decomposition process.

If this is not let out of the body gradually it builds up, exploding at the first opportunity.

Whales are the most extreme because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater.

In 2013, a biologist was filmed cutting open a washed up whale on the Faroe Islands.

As soon as the biologist began working, the gas trapped inside exploded, spewing tons of organs and guts into the air.

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