A newly-released image captured the tragic final moments of a whale which died after becoming stranded on the Cornish coast.
Experts are waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam to see whether they can establish a cause of death of the unnamed animal.
Locals at the scene described the incident as the whale became trapped, saying that it made an 'awful' noise.
A picture released yesterday shows how the animal was left with deep cuts from the jagged rocks, causing it to bleed heavily.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were called to Nare Point on The Lizard after the poorly creature beached on rocks.
Sadly the animal was pronounced dead at about 3.45pm on Friday afternoon, reports CornwallLive.
Police urged people not to travel to see the whale in the teeth of Storm Dennis, which could have added to traffic problems in the area.
BDMLR expert Dan Jarvis was hoping to return to the beach on Saturday to carry out an examination - but it not known whether he was hampered by the weather.
Because the beach is privately owned it is up to the landowner to remove the body, which is expected to take some time.
Mr Jarvis witnessed the heartbreaking final moments of the fin whale, including the creature banging its tail against the rocks on the beach.
The photo released by BMDLR shows the cuts of that final injury.
He added: "It sounded like thunder. It was an awful noise.
"Obviously you can see there's a lot of damage on the animal so it's obviously been here some time and it has been scraped on the rocks for some time. Things weren't great for it from the get go."
Mr Jarvis said that it is not clear whether the fin whale, which are the second largest creature on the planet, was male or female.
