UK: Young sperm whale washed up on Kent coast had 'starved to death'

The Daily Mail
Sat, 05 Mar 2011 01:22 UTC

A whale found dead off the south coast starved to death, initial findings have revealed.

The 45ft long sperm whale was found stranded on a beach in Pegwell Bay, off the Kent coast, yesterday.

The juvenile male had not eaten for some time and had become dehydrated, a preliminary post-mortem examination found.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London carried out the investigation as part of the Defra funded collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP).

Rob Deaville, project manager of the CSIP, said: 'Preliminary results from the post-mortem examination indicate that the whale had not fed for a long time, suggesting it had become dehydrated, which most likely played a role in its live stranding.

'Further tests will now be carried out to determine the full picture'.

The mammal was spotted at yesterday morning and although rescuers were called it later died.

Whale beachings are rarely explained. Scientists attribute them to natural and environmental factors such as rough weather, weakness due to old age, hunting too close to shore and navigation errors.

A Thanet District Council spokeswoman said it was seeking advice from the Institute of Zoology to determine how best to move it but they were currently being hampered by the high tide.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said an officer was on the scene and authorities were also liaising with experts at London's Natural History Museum, who may be called in to take samples of the sperm whale's jawbone.

Like dolphins, sperm whales can carry tuberculosis and lung disease and so the public would be well advised to stay away from the corpse.

Incidences of whales of this size washing up on the Kent coast are rare, a Kent Coastguard spokesman confirmed.