By Phil Vinter and Larisa Brown

13 August 2012

A whale that became stranded on a beach in Cornwall has died despite valiant efforts to save it.

Beach walkers were stunned after they came across the giant 65ft female fin whale at Carolyn Bay in St Austell in Cornwall yesterday.

Rescuers were called to the scene to try and help the injured mammal get back into the sea but vets from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said there was no hope of refloating the animal, which was ‘incredibly undernourished’.

The BDMLR said the difficult decision had been made to put down the animal for humane reasons, but the whale died naturally and this was not necessary.

Heartbreaking:

Rescuers examine the female Fin whale as it lay stranded on the beach at Carlyon Bay yesterday

Helpless:

The rescue workers try desperately to relax the 50ft long mammal as it fights to stay alive on the Cornish coast
 
The whale tries in vain to escape back out to the sea as the waves crash against its enormous frame.

The stranded whale was spotted by holidaymakers just after 5pm yesterday and initially rescuers had hoped to refloat it

Wellwishers:

Crowds gathered at the beach to see the forlorn animal, all hoping for a happy outcome

Discovery:

Beach walkers were stunned after they came across the giant 65ft whale Fin whale at Carlyon Bay in St Austell in Cornwall
 Hoping:

Crowds gathered at the spot where the whale had beached to get a glimpse of the huge underwater giant

Faye Archell, of the BDMLR, said before the whale died, it was an ‘incredibly difficult decision to take’ but it was also in its best interests.

She said: ‘It is incredibly under-nourished and has a very high breathing rate, which suggests it is very sick and distressed.

‘It would be wrong for us to put a sick animal back into the sea. We are frustrated about it but we cannot help it.’

The whale, which was stranded on an outgoing tide, had injuries to its head, gashes to its body and was injured around one eye.

Teams from St Austell Coast Guard, Devon and Cornwall Police and British Divers Marine Life Rescue – BDLMR came to the aid of the marooned animal which was reported as ‘alive and thrashing about in the shallow water’.

A BDMLR spokesman added: ‘In the end, the whale died without being put to sleep but it was not possible for the body to be secured to anything on the beach, so it may move with the tide.

‘It is hoped that it can be recovered for post-mortem and the public have been reminded that it is an offence to take any part of a whale without the appropriate licence.’
Sad:

The whale thrashes around on the water’s edge as rescuers try to come up with a plan to help the injured animal
  
Rescuers rushed to the scene to try and help the injured mammal get back into the sea but vets from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said there was no hope of refloating the animal

Around 300 people gathered at the scene yesterday as a team of people tried to get the whale back into the sea.

The coastguard and police cordoned off the beach to prevent further distress to the whale.

Inspector Dave Meredith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, tweeted last night: ‘The stranded whale has now passed away. Due to its injuries and poor condition there was no hope of rescue. A very sad incident for us all.’

Fin whales are the world’s second largest animal after the Blue Whale and are listed as a globally-endangered species.

They can grow to up to 85ft and weigh in at 80 tonnes, and eat food consisting of small schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans including shrimps and krill.

Fin whales are most common in the southern hemisphere but smaller populations have been known to inhabit the North Atlantic.

In Ireland, a 12 metre fin whale is stuck against a pier wall in west Cork.

A 40ft fin whale is stuck against a wall in west Cork in Ireland. Experts fear it may not survive after attempts to herd the creature back out to sea failed

The creature came in to the harbour in Baltimore on a low time and initially moved 300-400metres offshore before coming back into the port.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) said from the description it is a young fin whale and maybe sick or starving.

Brendan Cottrell, assistant coxswain on the Baltimore lifeboat and owner of the Cape Clear ferry, told the Irish Times : ‘We’ve been told to keep all the boats back and try not to stress the animal.

‘It looks as though he’s stuck by the pier wall and there’s a crowd of about 200 or 300 looking on. We’ve had dead whales on the beaches before but never a live one in this spot.’

It is understood that the whale may not be saved after attempts to herd the creature back out to sea failed.

Dr Simon Berrow, founder of the IWDG, told the Irish Times that he does not think the whale can survive.

He said: ‘We’ve had this before on the south-west coast where whales have been emaciated and died.’

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40ft fin whale gets stuck against Cork pier wall, Ireland *VIDEO*
To Mass Animal Death on Tuesday Aug 14 2012