A huge aquatic animal has washed up on a beach in Wales prompting a flurry of speculation but Metro has uncovered the nature of the beast.
The carcass appeared on Cefn Sidan Beach in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, a village in Wales, yesterday morning much to the alarm of people near and far.
Visitors and people on social media have speculated what mystery creature could be – many have suggested that it is a whale – but others disagree.
A Facebook commenter theorised that it could be a basking shark and another joked they saw ‘wings’ and a ‘scaly head’ that could only befit a Welsh dragon.
This is by no means the first incident of bizarre animal life washing up on UK shores. Just two days ago, a ‘very rare’ pygmy sperm whale was found dead on a beach in Bigbury on Sea, Devon, the BBC reported.
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Matthew Westfield, Marine Environmental Monitoring strandings co-ordinator in Wales, however, was able to shed some light on what the behemoth is.
Matthew, who has been at the scene this week, told Metro: ‘From a species point of view it is standout – it is very rare to get a fin whale and any opportunity to see it on the Welsh coast is of benefit.
‘It’s tough work if you imagine the animal weighs 50 tonnes and the lower jaw alone is five metres in length – it’s hard going work.’
The 50-year-old said the fin whale, the second largest of its kind behind only the blue whale, was just over 21 metres long.
The carcass is expected to be sent for further testing at London Zoo, then around the world for genetic and pollutant exams, Mr Westfield said.
A parked car can be seen next to the lifeless animal which appears to be around four times its size.
Part of the ribcage has become visible after the creature ‘badly decomposed’, Mr Westfield said, owing to it being dead for a long time.
Visitors at Cefn Sidan, an eight-mile-long sandy beach, were shocked at the sight of the colossal animal at the popular summer tourist attraction.
Matthew said his organisation has seen four fin whales turn up on the Welsh coast since 2000 – the last one that year in the River Dee.
‘They’re quite rare, they do pass Cornwall and the west coast of Ireland and Scotland but it’s very rare we get them in the Irish Sea.’
The whale is thought to be female, Mr Westfield said, but due to the severe state of decomposition he said there was no way of knowing for sure.
He observed strong evidence that other sea creatures such as sharks had been feeding on it, but was unable to establish a cause of death, despite the presence of microplastics in the animal.
Sue Burton, Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation officer, added: ‘If suitable for study, then the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme will be able to follow up and tell us more.’
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