The remains of an enormous sea creature that washed up in Carmarthenshire, Wales, have been identified as a fin whale.
Experts at the Zoological Society of London's Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) – sometimes known as ‘CSIs of the Sea’ for their role in solving marine mysteries like this one – have confirmed the species. “The sheer size of this animal alone indicated that it's a fin whale,” says Matthew Westfield, CSIP strandings coordinator for Wales.
These whales are the second biggest animals on the planet, after blue whales, and it’s rare for them to wash up in Wales.
“Fin whale strandings are relatively unusual in Wales,” says Rob Deaville, CSIP project manager. “This is only the fifth recorded stranded on Welsh coasts since CSIP began in 1990. The last happened in 2020,” he says.
By the time the carcass was discovered, it was impossible to perform a necropsy to find out how it died.
“Unfortunately, the remote site of this stranding meant that by the time this whale was found, their remains were too decomposed and fragmentary to enable any post-mortem examination to take place,” says Deville. “We won't be able to determine what caused this individual's death.”
However, the team have taken skin and tissue samples to learn about its genetics and whether it was exposed to any chemical pollutants.
It will now be left to decay on the coastline. “Given the isolated location of the carcass, we've advised Carmarthenshire County Council to leave it on the beach and allow it to decompose naturally,” says Westfield.
Although CSIP couldn’t confirm the animal’s cause of death, the information they gather from their analysis helps to build up a picture of the health of our seas.
“Field necropsies and strandings investigation aren't only about understanding why an animal died,” says Deaville.
“Through this work we've already been able to better understand how bycatch, ship strikes, marine pollution and climate change all impact these animals.”
Top image: fin whale on beach in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Credit: Marine Environmental Monitoring
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