It will now be transported to London Zoo for a post-mortem to be carried out
Port Talbot Coastguard transported the dolphin away from the beach(Image: Port Talbot Coastguard)
A dolphin was discovered washed up on a Welsh beach. Port Talbot Coastguard received reports of the find at Aberavon Beach on Friday. On their arrival, just after 3pm, they discovered a short-beaked common dolphin at the scene.
After documentation was completed, arrangements were made for it to be transported to London Zoo. A post-mortem examination will be carried out at the zoo upon its arrival. It is the latest sad discovery on a Welsh beach after a number of incidents in recent weeks.
A statement from Port Talbot Coastguard read: “Our team responded to reports of a deceased dolphin washed ashore at Aberavon Beach.
“Coastguard rescue officers promptly attended the scene, one of whom also serves as a British divers marine life rescue (BDMLR) officer.
“The coastguards carried out the necessary measurements, completed documentation, and submitted photographs to our operations room while liaising with Gareth Richards, area coordinator for BDMLR, and cetacean strandings investigation programme (CSIP).
“A CSIP representative later arrived on scene and arranged for the short-beaked common dolphin to be transported to London Zoo, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted.”
The dolphin was discovered at Aberavon Beach(Image: Port Talbot Coastguard)
It is not the only creature to have washed up on our shores recently.
A huge 70ft whale was discovered decomposing at Cefn Sidan sands in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, after members of the public made the unusual discovery.
The “very large” fin whale is believed to be a female but had been dead for some time when it was discovered meaning it was already in a “bad state of decomposition”, according to the Marine Environmental Monitoring (MEM).
And in Fife, Scotland, a mass stranding saw thousands of starfish wash up on a beach.
Thousands of the invertebrates were washed ashore along a wide stretch of Kirkcaldy beach, on Monday, with many being thrown up on to the paved footpath above the beach by large waves.