Dead sperm whale found washed up at Porth Neigwl

Campers have spotted a dead whale washed up on a beach in north Wales.

Abersoch Coastguard Rescue Team announced the sighting of a beached whale at Porth Neigwl, also known as Hell's Mouth, Gwynedd, on Monday morning.

People have been urged not to approach the animal, which experts believe is a young sperm whale.

The rescue team said after locating it, it had directed a team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue to the cliff top who confirmed the whale was dead.

"With a full and very high tide preventing any access to the beach a full assessment and post mortem will be carried out later," the coastguard said.

"Please do not attempt to approach the whale as this part of the beach is fully cut off at high tide and any contact will impair the valuable results to be gained from a full autopsy."

Sperm whales, which are considered vulnerable globally, can grow up to 59ft (18m) and weigh up to 45 tonnes.

In 2019, a young sperm whale was found washed up on the same beach. Experts believed it was the first time a sperm whale calf had been stranded on Welsh shores.

Monday's sighting follows the discovery of a dead minke whale on North Berwick beach in East Lothian, Scotland on Sunday morning.

Further north, a dead humpback whale was found on a sand bank at Loch Fleet nature reserve in the Scottish Highlands on Friday.