A stricken sperm whale which washed up on a beach in Norfolk is unlikely to survive because it’s too big to be lifted or rolled.
The 14-metre long animal, which is still alive, became stranded at Hunstanton but nothing can be done to save it, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said.
It comes after three dead whales washed up on the Lincolnshire coast last month, and is the 29th stranding across Europe in the last two weeks, the voluntary organisation said.
Stephen Marsh, operations manager for BDMLR, said there is nothing the volunteers can do due to the size and weight of the animal.
“It’s a sperm whale, another male. It’s the 29th stranding we’ve had in Europe in the last couple weeks,” he said.
“We had two in Germany last night, one in France on Tuesday night. It’s a live stranding but it’s unlikely to survive. The tide may well lift it but we don’t think it would survive another stranding if it came back in.
“There’s nothing we can do, it’s likely to be between 25-30 tonnes. We can’t lift it, we can’t roll it, the vets can’t put it out of its misery.
“The body will be breaking down and releasing toxins, causing organ failure. It’s a very sad case but we will have to let nature take its course.”
The whale is said to be 1.5 miles out on the sand and the coastguard is also in attendance.
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