Public warning after whale washes up on Cumbrian coastline

The public are being urged to avoid areas of a Cumbrian beach after a whale carcass washed up on the shore.

The discovery was made by members of the public in Allonby on Friday 20 October. 

Visitors to the beach, especially those with children and dogs, are being urged to avoid close proximity to the whale's body.

It is thought that the animal is a northern bottle-nose whale, which are the largest member of the beaked whale family in the North Atlantic Ocean. The species prefer cold, deep, temperates.

Cumberland council, who are overseeing the removal of the carcuss, have not yet confirmed when the whale will be cleared from the scene.

A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: "We have identified a stranded cetacean, specifically a whale, at Allonby Beach.

"The appropriate authorities have been alerted, and we are currently awaiting for a scheduled removal.

"It is important to retrieve the cetacean and investigate the circumstances surrounding its unfortunate demise.

“We are advising the public to refrain from any attempts to touch or relocate the marine mammal and to keep dogs on a lead when walking on the beach and maintain a safe distance from the cetacean."

This comes after a pilot whale was found stranded on West Beach at Silloth in January.

A statement from Maryport Coastguard said: "We would like to thank the first informants that have contacted us about the whale that is washed up at Allonby.

"The team has been out to the whale, information has been passed onto our operations centre at Belfast, and they are organising removal.

"Can we ask in the meantime that the public not to get too close to the whale, and keep dogs on leads around it.

"During decomposition whales' gut bacteria multiply very quickly, producing methane gas which can in turn, cause them to explode."

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