A rare pygmy sperm whale has washed up on a Welsh beach.
The adult male was found on Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire on Wednesday. It is the 14th whale of its kind to have been found on the UK's shores and only the third in Wales. This is out of around 16,000 dolphins, porpoises and whales analysed by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) over the last 29 years.
The last one was stranded on UK shores more than three years ago.
Other sightings of the pygmy sperm whale have included several in Scotland, a few in south-west England, one in north Wales and another in south-west Wales.
This whale measured 2.48 metres long and although little is known about the species' habitats, most are thought to live to around 23-years-old.
The UK is believed to be at the northern end of its range. It is also one of only two species of whale to release ink, in this case a thick, red substance created from its faecal matter, to protect itself from predators.
The pygmy sperm whale had an eye missing when it was discovered, which has been put down to hungry birds.
The carcass will now be examined by the CSIP - dubbed the 'CSI of the Sea' - at the Zoological Society of London.
Its project manager, Rob Deaville, said: "It probably ended up in Carmarthenshire because the area is flat, gently shelving and very tidal.
"We think that it was nutritionally challenged as it was slightly thin and there was no evidence of recent ingestion of prey.
"They usually eat squid and octopus and there were round circular marks around its mouth which would suggest this. We found a lot of hair-like parasites and multiple squid beaks in its stomach.
"There was a lot of froth in its airway which would suggest that it was a live stranding. It died probably because it was alive when it was stranded."
The cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy.
Mr Deaville, a marine biologist, said this will determine whether the whale died because of the impact of humans on the environment.
He said: "We’re looking at different possibilities – chemical contaminants in the environment, physical pollution such as plastics, noise pollution from shipping and certain offshore industries, bycatch from fishing, or a different cause of death altogether.”
Anyone who comes across a dead whale, dolphin or porpoise is urged to contact the CSI programme by visiting UKstrandings.org
Any live strandings should be reported immediately to the RSPCA.
