60ft whale found on Carsluith beach

The results of a post mortem on a 60 foot whale that washed up near Newton Stewart are expected to be known this week.

Experts have being trying to establish how the mammal came to be swimming along the Solway before getting stranded on 17th February.

Marine Scotland normally investigate around two or three incidences of whale beachings a year.

Their findings are used to asses environmental stresses on whale populations.

They also examine other marine species to gauge wider issues affecting the seas off the British Isles.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was extremely unusual for a creature as large as this one to wash up on the shore in south-west Scotland.

The council are hoping to bury it above the high tide mark sometime later today or tomorrow in order to prevent its carcass from causing contamination along the beach.

Doctor Andrew Brownlow, who carried out an autopsy on the whale, admitted he was not sure how the mammal came to swim up the Solway but concluded it might have simply been lost.

The juvenile male may have been following a shoal of fish or other food source and become disorientated.

The Fin Whale normally lives in the mid Atlantic.

The species spends the summer near the Arctic but comes further south in the winter.

A post mortem has been carried out on a 25-tonne whale washed up on a beach on the Galloway coastline.

The 57 foot long Fin Whale, believed to be around 15 years old, was discovered on the beach near Newton Stewart on Sunday evening (17th February).

It was still alive when it was found but was left stranded by the tide and did not survive.

An examination was carried out by marine expert Dr Andrew Brownlow.

His preliminary findings show the whale died due to being unable to support its massive weight out of the water and probably drowned after inhaling sea water.

Vets are now carrying out an autopsy on the 60 foot whale to establish the cause of death.

Attempts are currently being made to move the whale so that an autopsy can take place.

Vet Andrew Brownlow said it would take most of the day to examine the animal to establish how it died.

A digger will then bury the animal close to the beach.

Vets will begin investigating how a 60ft dead whale ended up on a Solway beach.

The giant mammal was found washed up on the sandy estuary at Carsluith near Newton Stewart on Sunday night (17th February).

A post-mortem of the whale will be carried out to establish the cause of the death, and a discussion will begin on how best to dispose of the carcass.

There were reports that the whale may have been one of many spotted in the area over the past few days, however it is the only one to be found washed up.

A similar sized whale was found on the Borgue coast near Kirkcudbright in 2006.

A 60 foot whale has been found washed up on a Solway Firth beach.

The dead whale, found at Carsluith near Newton Stewart, was discovered last night (17th February), near to salmon stake nets on the estuary.

Experts from Dumfries and Galloway Council are now working to establish exactly what type of whale it is.