It was the first time a long-finned pilot whale had been seen in the area
The huge whale was the first of its kind to be seen in the Gower(Image: Gower Sealife)
A rare whale was found washed up on a Welsh beach. The young long-finned pilot whale was found stuck in the swell of the sea during low tide at Llangennith Beach in the Gower on Monday, September 1.
The whale was discovered around mid-afternoon and both the Coastguard and Marine Life Rescue were called for assistance. They later discovered the whale had been a female and was under 12 months old. Despite locals desperately trying to save the animal, it sadly died on the beach.
Mark Button, a local Coastguard volunteer, said: “We got paged to say that people had found a whale on the beach and we went to investigate.” For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter here.
“Three or four people noticed it in the swell and the tide was dropping back. Apparently four people tried to keep it alive by splashing water over it but sadly it passed before we got there.”
Mark said he’d never seen or heard of a long-finned pilot whale being spotted in the area before.
He explained there are often dolphins and basking sharks around the Gower but never normally anything like this.
Having been collected by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), the whale will now undergo a post mortem examination.
Long-finned pilot whales are typically found in the North Atlantic Ocean. Adults range between 7.6m and 6m in length and they can grow to up to 4,500kg in weight.
The impressive animals are described as being very sociable and having an inquisitive nature. They tend to stay in pods which are usually made up of mothers and their offspring and are extremely loyal to one another.
Mark warned that because of this, people in and around the area should keep an eye out for more whales in case they try to come towards the shore in an attempt to rescue the dead whale.
A spokesperson from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: “We received a call regarding a whale stranding at Rhossili and dispatched BDMLR Marine Mammal Medics to the scene.
“Reports indicated that members of the public had attempted to refloat the animal back into the sea; however, further information confirmed that the whale had sadly died.
“As a result, BDMLR Medics were stood down, and our Area Coordinator attended alongside Marine Environmental Monitoring to secure the carcass for a post mortem examination. The whale was identified as a juvenile pilot whale.”
Anyone who finds a marine creature in trouble is urged to call the cetacean rescue team on 01825 765546.