- Minke whale found on South Bay beach, Scarborough, Yorkshire
- It is thought that it died after it became caught in lobster pot ropes
- Underwent an autopsy conducted by the Zoological Society of London
- Another whale was found on Thurso beach in Caithness, northern Scotland
- It is also thought that the whale drowned after becoming caught in ropes
By Jaymi Mccann
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A minke whale has washed up on a Scarborough beach after it got tangled up in lobster pot ropes.
Unusually, two minke whales washed up on shores at opposite ends of the country this week.
Another one was found on Thurso beach, Caithness, northern Scotland, after it drowned when caught in ropes.
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Washed up: A dead minke whale was found on Scarborough beach with some lacerations to its tale
Dead: t is thought that the whale became tangled in lobster pots off the Yorkshire coast
The minke whale caused a stir among people in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, whose interest in the mammal caused them to be cut off by the raising tide.
Sea life experts believe the whale had already died in the sea before being deposited onto sands of South Bay in Scarborough yesterday.
A post-mortem carried out at the scene confirmed that the eight metre animal had drowned after being tangled in a lobster pot.
Todd German, an aquarist from Scarborough Sea Life Centre, said he was alarmed by the behaviour of the people on the beach who climbed on top of the whale or became distracted and cut off by the rising tide.
He said: 'They really do carry a lot of diseases which you can catch just from touching them. But even though it was a big, smelly, rotting whale people were quite happy to go up and touch it.
'Yesterday we even had people climbing up on top of the whale and riding it. You wouldn't do that to a dead cat or dog.
'The coast guard got called out several times to people who were going to look at the whale and got cut-off.
'We want to encourage people to see whales up close when they can – it's beautiful to see such a large animal which you only normally get a fleeting glimpse of. But we would just like to remind people to use their heads.'
Unusual: Minke whales are solitary creatures, but can be curious and investigate boats
Spectacle: Onlookers snapped pictures after the beached washed ashore
Scarborough: The whale underwent a postmortem to ascertain what had happened to it
The giant mammal was removed for incineration by a team involving the sea life centre, Scarborough Borough Council and the RSPCA.
It was first spotted by the crew of a boat floating in the sea near North Bay on Wednesday night.
It underwent an autopsy conducted by the Zoological Society of London.
Lindsey Crawford from Sea Life Scarborough told Yorkshire Coast Radio: 'With an animal that large, you can't just take it off the beach ... The main reason we wanted to go down was to see if there were any obvious wounds of why it's died.
'Body condition was quite healthy, it's quite a nice looking animal, the only thing was a few lacerations around the tail area, possibly made by ropes or netting.
'People would be very surprised at what is actually on their doorsteps. We have some beautiful animals in our sea and Minke Whales are one of them.'
The Scottish whale is believed to be the first to be washed ashore on Thurso beach in Caithness, in several decades
A post-mortem by the Scottish Agricultural College revealed she had drowned at sea three to four days prior to washing up on the shore
The Scottish whale is believed to be the first to be washed ashore on Thurso beach in Caithness, in several decades.
Senior SSPCA Inspector Audrey Gunn said: 'I was called to a whale stranding on Tuesday evening at Thurso Beach.
'Unfortunately, it was already dead before I arrived and had been dead for a wee while.
'It was a minke whale measuring 7.5 meters.
'A post-mortem by the Scottish Agricultural College revealed she had drowned at sea three to four days prior to washing up on the shore.
'We believe she may have become caught up in rope as there was damage to her mouth and marks consistent with this. This was a very sad end for such a beautiful creature.'
Highland Council warned members of the public to stay away from the whale for health reasons, before taking it to a landfill site yesterday morning.
R.I.P peaceful giant
- Marsiebars , Bridgetown, Barbados, 13/7/2013 00:32
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