A sperm whale found washed up on a beach in north Wales last week was “in a markedly poor nutritional condition”, initial investigations have found.
Scientists who conducted an initial post mortem on the whale had been concerned about what appeared to be a mass on its side, but what they could see was actually the animal’s ribs protruding because it was so malnourished.
The 10.8-metre adult female sperm whale found at Porth Neigwl at the Llyn Peninsula is only the second stranded sperm whale recorded in Wales in the last century, Rob Deaville, project manager for the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) said. He said it was the “thinnest sperm whale” he’d ever worked on. Further analysis of the whale will now be conducted. You can get more environment news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
