Rarely-seen whale washes up near coastal resort

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A whale that washed up near a coastal resort has been formally identified as a Sowerby's beaked whale, which is rarely seen at sea.

The body of the juvenile male was found on Saturday near Smallmouth Beach in Weymouth, Dorset.

Experts from London Zoo confirmed the species, which is thought to inhabit deep ocean trenches in the North Atlantic.

The 11.5ft (3.5m) whale may have starved to death as it was in the wrong location to feed, experts said.

A member of the public alerted the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which asked British Divers Marine Life Rescue to recover the carcass from the water.

The lives of Sowerby's beaked whales are not well studied due to the difficulty of observing them, according to the Sea Watch Foundation.

They are "rarely seen at sea", although there have been more than 100 strandings around the British coastline since 1913, the charity said.

Sightings around the British Isles are usually off the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, according to the foundation.

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