Huge 35ft-long sperm whale is found dead

A massive sperm whale carcass is causing a stink after washing up on a Lincolnshire beach.

Crowds
of interested people gathered to see the 35ft (10.7m) whale today,
which was first spotted near the bottom of Skegness Pier yesterday.

But
they were repelled by the repugnant smell of the animal, which has
large gashes across its back and may have been dead for several days.

'So we have covered it with sand until we can remove it from the beach, which should be early next week.'
Experts believe the whale collided with a boat and could have been dead for several days before finally washing ashore.

Naturalist
Tony Burgess, who visited Skegness to witness the spectacle, said: "If
they get into shallow waters the weight of their bodies on their lungs
makes it difficult for them to breathe.

'It's always so sad when you see a great creature like that dead.'
Whales were last spotted on Skegness Beach in 2006, when two bottled nosed whales washed ashore.

Male sperm whales are abundant in nearly all of the earth's oceans and undertake vast migratory journeys.

But they prefer deep waters to hunt their predominate prey - the deep sea squid.
Julie
Hamilton, who was visiting Butlins from Leicester, said: "We came down
to have a look because it's a once in a lifetime experience to see such a
rare thing but it's really sad.

'I love animals and it's always awful when you see any wildlife destroyed.'
Skegness resident Ivan Frost said: 'It's unbelievable - I've never seen anything so large washed up on the beach before.'

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